
Class 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



A HISTORY 

OF 

MONTGOMERY COUNTY 
IOWA 




W. W. MERRITT. 



A HISTORY 



OF THE 



County of Montgomery 



FROM THE 



EARLIEST DAYS TO 1906 



BY 

W. W. MERRITT, Sr. 



PUBLISHED BY 

THE EXPRESS PUBLISHING COMPANY 

RED OAK, lOAVA 

1900 



^Co^^ 



(V\E'i 



\A3 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two Copies Received 

DEC 30 1906 

L Copyrlehl Entry 
CLASS A XXc, No. 
COPY B. 



COPYRIGHT 1906 

BY 

THOS. D. MURPHY 



TO THE PIONEERS 



WHO BLAZED THE WAY, BRAVED THE ELEMENTS, FORDED 
STREAMS AND REARED CABINS ON THE STORM SWEPT 
PRAIRIES; THE SPACIOUS LANDSCAPE THEIR ONLY SCENE 
BY DAY; THE TINKLING COW BELL IN THE DISTANT 
CORRAL AND HOWLING WOLVES THE ONLY SOUNDS BY 
NIGHT; BUT WHO, WITH BRAVE HEARTS AND WILLING 
HANDS, DEFIED THE WILDERNESS AND IN AFTER YEARS 
TRANSFORMED IT INTO FRUITFUL FIELDS AND CAUSED 
IT TO BLOSSOM LIItE THE ROSE, THIS BOOK IS GRATE- 
FULLY DEDICATED. 



AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 



'' I ^HE difficulty of reducing the great amount of material ac- 
cumulated in the county records and newspaper files, to- 
gether with the personal recollections of old settlers, to the limits 
of a single book, cannot be realized by any one till he under- 
takes a similar task. 

The author has been solicited by the curator of the State 
Historical Society, Hon. Charles Aldrich, and others, to make a 
permanent record of the history of the county. Notwithstanding 
he has witnessed every step in her progress since the spring of 
1857, yet this does not necessarily qualify one for such a task. 
He, however, consented to undertake it, but with many misgiv- 
ings, knowing full well that he could not reach his own ideal of 
what it should be, viz: that it should cover the entire period 
from the organization of the county up to the date of its publica- 
tion; that it ought to be elaborate and complete and the past 
brought side by side with the present. The limits prescribed 
makes this impossible. 

The problem in assorting, arranging and philosophising upon 
the importance and significance of recorded and unrecorded 
events, consists of what to admit and what to exclude. 

At some future time the facts recorded herein may form the 
basis for the historian whose field is of wider scope, and who 
will add largely to the sum total of the State's, and even to the 
Nation's history. 

Montgomery County is the garden spot of the world and if 
her history is a promise and a prophecy of the future, great 
things are in store for her, and the preservation of her annals 
should be classed among things demanding more than a passing 
notice. 



Another reason why this record should be preserved is that 
it furnishes to posterity examples of manhood and womanhood 
worthy of imitation. The pioneers were imbued with faith and 
courage. They lived the simple and contented life and trans- 
mitted to their descendants their physical and moral vigor, as 
well as their material* accumulations, obtained without the taint 
of dishonor. 

The facts gleaned from the voluminous county records and 
the newspapers may be relied upon. A brief mention is made 
of noticeable events of the several years of the county history, 
chronologically ranged, from 1849 to 1905 and some of them 
are referred to and enlarged upon in other chapters. 

Acknowledgement should be made to several contributors 
who assisted the author in this work. The chapter on "Early 
Life in the Forks" was written by Mr. W. H. Moore, who 
was an actual participant in the scenes he describes, being one 
of our early school teachers. The chapter on medicine was 
contributed by Dr. W. B. Lawrence; and Mr. Webster Eaton, 
the first editor of The Express, wrote what is given relating to 
the founding of that paper in Chapter XXIX. The chapter 
on the Spanish-American War was contributed by Mr. E. J. 
Barklow, who also wrote "The History of Red Oak" and 
"Other Towns in the County," The four chapters of early 
experiences and early incidents were compiled from various 
sources, the experiences of old settlers given in Chapter XX 
being taken from the special edition of the Red Oak Independ- 
ent several years ago. 

In inserting portraits, the author was governed by the rule 
of admitting only those of people who came to the county 
prior to 1865, though there are a few obvious exceptions. In 
the portraits of public men, the plan was to give only those who 
had held higher than county offices. The author recognizes 
that following this plan there were necessarily many omissions, 
but he spared no effort to get portraits of all the early settlers 
that he possibly could and several requests for these were pub- 
lished in the Red Oak Express. 



PUBLISHER'S FOREWORD. 



Several years ago, when the writer was editing the Red 
Oak Express, he recognized the great desirability of com- 
piling and publishing an adequate history of Montgomery 
County. It was clear that the longer this was deferred the more 
important material, especially concerning early days, would be 
lost forever. I saw that in case such a history were written 
soon, there were many men in the county whose lives had cov- 
ered almost its entire history and whose reminiscences would 
constitute a much more interesting and in some cases more 
reliable source of history than anything that has been published 
or made of record. 

The greatest difficulty in carrying out this plan was to find 
the man who was qualified to write the history. In giving the 
matter a little consideration, it occurred to me that one man of 
all others was best qualified from almost every point of view to 
do this work, and he was our well known fellow citizen, Hon. 
W. W. Merritt. He has been closely identified with the 
history of the county almost from its inception and he moreover 
possesses the philosophical turn of mind and the literary ability 
that is necessary for a successful historian. I approached him 
several times on the subject, but owing to his business affairs 
and general disinclination to undertake such a difficult and neces- 
sarily laborious task, the matter was deferred from time to time. 
Finally, however, he consented, but the work necessarily pro- 
ceeded very slowly, and nearly four years elapsed after it was 
undertaken until the book was ready for publication. 



I believe that it marks an era in the pubHcation of county 
histories in Iowa; that it sets a much higher standard for these 
works than they have heretofore attained. Mr. Merritt has 
not attempted to write a history of the universe and tack a few 
pages of local interest on as an appendix, the usual plan that 
has been followed in county histories. He passes over the gen- 
eral history of the western country leading up to the organiza- 
tion of the county very rapidly, and the history is what it purports 
to be — a history of Montgomery County. It not only is 
meritorious from an historical point of view, but is valuable as 
a literary work. It contains not only bare historical fact that 
might be expected in a history, but it is full of incidents and 
reminiscences, often amusing, that make it far more readable 
than a mere recital of historical data could possibly have been. 
In order that the facts be not neglected in any way, Mr. Merritt 
has compiled from official sources and from newspaper files a 
complete chronology of the county by years from its first white 
settler up to date. This will be of interest to those who desire 
the facts in a concise form. 

The mechanical excellence of the book is well in keeping 
with its contents. It has been printed in the very best style of 
the art from entirely new and very handsome type. The illus- 
trations are all printed on plate paper inserts and numerous 
enough to be a very important feature of the book. While a 
moderately large edition has been printed, it is none too large 
and since no re-issue will probably be made, it behooves every 
citizen of the county to secure one or more copies of the book 
when the opportunity is offered to him. 

THOS. D. MURPHY. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I. 

ABSTRACT OP TITLE TO MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 
An outline of the history of the state from the earliest days up 
to 1850 — Early government of Iowa — Boundaries of state 
finally fixed 



CHAPTER II. 

ORGANIZATION, NAMING AND SURVEYING OF THE COUNTY. 

Sketch of Richard Montgomery, after whom the county was 
named — Description of the methods of the early sur- 
veyors 15 



CHAPTER III. 

THE PRAIRIES AND THE RIVERS WITH THEIR WATER MILLS. 

Description of the unbroken prairies — Ravages of prairie fires 
— The rivers of the county and their characteristics — The 
pioneer water mills 24 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE INDIANS. 

Theories of their origin — Recollections of early Montgomery 

County settlers — Chief Mahaska killed in Washington 

Township — Fierce warfare between the Pottawattamies' 

and the lowas 30 



CHAPTER V. 
THE PIONEERS. 
Manner of living of the pioneers — Something about early agri- 
culture — Hospitality in log cabins — Tribute to the pioneer 
women 37 



xii TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VI. 
OBSOLETE TOWNS OF THE COUNTY. 
Frankfort, the pioneer county seat, its business and society — 
Flora, a town on paper — Arlington on the Nodaway — 
Rossvllle — Bristol 45 



CHAPTER VIL 
WARTIME ORGANIZATIONS AND INCIDENTS. 
Union League of America — Knights of the Golden Circle — Meet- 
ing of Southern sympathizers at Ross Grove — Resolutions 
adopted and reply of Clarinda Herald 56 



CHAPTER VIII. 
RAILROADS. 
Building of the C. B. & Q. Railroad through the County — The 

North and South Branches — Some railroad statistics 64 



CHAPTER IX. 
THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD. 
Montgomery County and the slavery agitation — Underground 
Railroad through the County — Some experiences of the 
writer 72 



CHAPTER X. 
JOHN BROWN 
Some of his operations in Southwestern Iowa — A frequent Mont- 
gomery County visitor — His influence in bringing about the 
war 77 



CHAPTER XI. 
BEN. 
A true story of slavery in Montgomery County, and how it was 
impossible to emancipate the slave — Death solves the 
problem 83 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. xiil 

CHAPTER XII. 
WAR OF THE REBELLION. 
Dark days — More enlistments in Montgomery County in propor- 
tion to its population than any other county in state — 
Prominent Montgomery County soldiers — List of all citi- 
zens in County who enlisted — Their regiment and company. .90 



CHAPTER XIII. 
THREE PROMINENT PIONEERS. 
Sketches of Alfred Hebard, Justus Clark and R. M. G. Pat- 
terson 108 



CHAPTER XIV. 
JASON B. PACKARD. 
An early Montgomery County philosopher — Treasurer many 
years — Newspaper Correspondent — Letter from Abraham 
Lincoln to Mr. Packard 115 



CHAPTER XV. 
EARLY LIFE IN THE FORKS. 
A sketch of pioneer life on present site of Villisca — Business, 

customs and amusements — Founding of Villisca 122 



CHAPTER XVI. 
NOTED MURDER TRIALS OF THE COUNTY. 
Murder of Dr. Hatton and trial of murderer — Cross murder 
trial, transferred from Council Bluffs to Red Oak — Thiele 
murder in Villisca — Murder of John Stipe in 1856 137 



CHAPTER XVII. 
COMMON SCHOOLS OF THE COUNTY. 
Iowa's high educational rank — Pioneer schools in Montgomery 

County — Some early schoolteachers and methods 147 



CHAPTER XVIII. 
COUNTY COURT HOUSES, PAST AND PRESENT. 
Something about the present structure — The early court house 
in Frankfort and its transfer to Red Oak — How it was 
lost on the prairies — Something about early county judges. .153 



xiv TABLE OP CONTENTS. 

chapter xix. 

memorial services op lincoln, garfield, grant and 

Mckinley. 

Account of services held in Montgomery County 161 



CHAPTER XX. 
SOME EARLY EXPERIENCES. 
Experiences related by Mr. H. C. Binns — Mr. Thos. Weidman's 
recollections — Court in the County forty-four years ago — 
Youthful Age of Montgomery County 167 



CHAPTER XXI. 
A CHAPTER OF EARLY INCIDENTS, GRAVE AND GAY. 
A case of false imprisonment — A Frankfort society man — Other 

amusing and interesting early occurrences 17ft 



CHAPTER XXII. 

ANOTHER CHAPTER OF EARLY INCIDENTS. 

cold winter in 1866 as described by Mr. E. P. Milner — A 

political incident of 1860 — A vision of dry bones — Pioneer 

saw and flour mills — Republican convention of 1860 — First 

tax list and other items of interest 18# 



CHAPTER XXIII. 
MEDICAL FRATERNITY IN THE COUNTY. 
The importance of medical science — Early Montgomery County 

physicians — A roster of present practitioners in the County. 195. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 
THE MONTOMERY COUNTY BAR. 
Data concerning early lawyers — Short sketches of present mem- 
bers of Montgomery County bar — Sketch of Judge Horace 
E. Deemer — Sketch of Judge Smith McPherson 203: 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. iv 

CHAPTER XXV. 

AGRICULTURE AND HORTICULTURE. 
Wonderful productiveness of Montgomery County — Evolution 
of agricultural methods — Excellence of Montgomery County 
orchards 214 



CHAPTER XXVI. 
THETJOUNTY FAIR. 
First fair held in Frankfort in 1859 — Organization of Fair As- 
sociation in Red Oak and history followed up to date 220 



CHAPTER XXVII. 
THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR. 
Declaration of war — Local excitement — Sketch of Company M 
— Preparing for war — Camp at San Francisco — Across the 
Pacific — Guard duty — Campaigning in the tropics — Home- 
ward bound — Deaths in camp — Darwin R. Merritt 228 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 
RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS IN THE COUNTY. 
Difficulty of securing data — Foundation of the Methodist Church 
in county with history of church to date — Sketches of 
other churches and religious organizations in the county. . . .251 



CHAPTER XXIX. 
A CHAPTER OF MISCELLANIES. 
Foundation of the first newspaper, described by Mr. Webster 
Eaton, first editor of The Express — President McKinley's 
visit to Red Oak — Sketches of long-lived people of county 
Mrs. Thos. Wheeler, a centenarian — Gen. Grant's visit to 
Red Oak — Other miscellaneous items 263 



CHAPTER XXX. 
HISTORY OF RED OAK. 
Founding of town and early history — Arrival of railroad — City 
officials up to date — Some important fires — Fire Depart- 
ment — City water works — Public utilities — Street railway 
— Paving — Business and society — Banks — Hotels — Indus- 
tries — Art Calendars — Schools — Civic societies — News- 
papers 277 



xvi TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XXXI. 
OTHER TOWNS OF THE COUNTY. 
Villisca — Founding of the town — List of officials — The Public 
Schools — Newspapers — Banks — Fire Company — Elliott — 
— The foreign element, Stanton, Wales — The Welsh Col- 
ony — The town of Milford 310 



APPENDIX A. 
A chronology of Montgomery County from the earliest day up 

to 1904 321 



APPENDIX B. 
A complete roster of Companies B and M, Fifty-First I. N. G. . .341 



APPENDIX C. 
A list of Senators and Representatives of Montgomery County. . .344 




OLD HISTORIC RESIDENCh Oh J. B. PACKARD IN SHERMAN TOWNSHIP. 




THE TEFT CABIN NEAR STENNETT— The only one extant in the western half of county. A sur- 
vival of the fittest and exceptional because constructed of hewn logs. 



CHAPTER I. 

ABSTRACT OF TITLE OF MONTGOMERY COUN- 
TY. OUTLINE OF HISTORY OF THE 
STATE OF IOWA UP TO 1850. 

Arbitrary political divisions, large or small, do not necessarily 
determine ownership or establish a clear title. In tracing the 
title to our county, we find it cloudy at the further end. A 
complete abstract, meeting all the requirements of a sensitive 
conscience and fulfilling exact justice, can not be made and no 
court of record can possibly grant it. Like tracing many a fam- 
ily name, prudence would dictate not to trace it too far lest the 
final discovery might be embarassing. Originally there was no 
right of title or ownership other than the flimsy and absurd 
"right of discovery"— the real occupants and owners not being 
taken into consideration—a custom adopted by European nations 
in accordance with an understanding among them that the dis- 
coverer could hold possession by establishing colonies. The 
country west of the Mississippi River, of which our county is a 
small integral part, was discovered by the Spaniards and held by 
them for a time, but they never perfected the title, such as it was. 
Subsequently it was visited and occupied by the French for near- 
ly one hundred years and was then, in the course of European 
affairs, ceded back to Spain, which afterwards made some effort 
to colonize and govern the great tract later known as Louisiana. 
The Spaniards had control of three hundred miles of the Miss- 
issippi River and established military posts at different points on 
the east bank from New Orleans northward to the mouth of the 
Ohio River, exacting heavy duties on all imports by way of the 
river to the Ohio regions. 



2 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

Every boat ascending or descending the river was forced to 
submit to the most arbitrary exactions of the Spanish authorities. 
This the American citizen considered a clear case of "hold-up," 
and resolved to endure it no longer than measures could be taken 
to suppress such highway robbery. It was a live question of im- 
mediate and personal concern to the western population of the 
United States. The pressure which was bought to bear from 
this section led our government to demand the free navigation of 
the river—not as a favor, but as an absolute right. Public senti- 
ment was unanimous on this question and President Jefferson, re- 
sponding to the demands of the people, sought to solve this vex- 
atious problem through the peaceable methods of diplomacy. 

Congress authorized him to send commissioners to the courts 
of Spain and France, and vested him with large discretionary 
power to make the best possible terms. Fortunate, indeed, for 
our republic was the treaty made between the two powers men- 
tioned, on March 1 st, 1 80 1 , by which France again obtained 
possession and control of the vast territory of Louisiana. Our 
commissioners were chosen, given due authority and hastened on 
their journey. Arriving at Paris, they laid before the French 
government the object of their visit. In conversation with Tally- 
rand, Napoleon's prime minister, it was learned that France was 
well disposed and a satisfactory arrangement could easily be 
made; it was even hinted that possibly she would sell outright her 
possessions in the New World. The commissioners were advis- 
ed by the French statesman "to think it over" during the night. 
The next day Napoleon himself told Mr. Livingston, one of the 
commission, that he would "give them a splendid bargain for a 
mere trifle," and thus an undertaking which originally contemp- 
lated merely the establishing of trade relations, opened up the 
question of the purchase of a vast empire. No doubt Napoleon 
was influenced in this matter by his comparative helplessness to 
defend this great territory against the English, with whom war 
-was inevitable. The price which he finally named was $ 1 5,- 



ABSTRACT OF TITLE 3 

000,000, and after considerable parley, this was agreed to by 
the commission and the transfer was duly made. The price 
agreed upon seemed to many at that time a fabulous sum — 
"enough to pay all expenses of the government for eighteen 
months." The timid Yankees of that early day were alarmed 
on account of the enormous debt which this sum in bonds would 
represent, which demonstrates how limited is the foresight of even 
the wisest in any generation of men. 

This transaction was the most important event of our history 
since the formation of the National Union accomplished through 
the patriotism, courage and devotion of the founders of our gov- 
ernment after having endured eight years of the stress of war. 
Soon afterwards, our flag was unfurled in triumph over the city 
of New Orleans, typifying our National sovereignty in the newly 
acquired possessions. From that time our nation has steadily ex- 
panded, extending its domain west of the Mississippi to the Pacific 
Ocean and north from the Gulf of Mexico to British America. 
We sought merely an outlet to the Gulf and obtained by peace- 
able methods,~by barter and sale,— an empire of unparalleled rich- 
ness and extent. 

The transfer of this imperial domain from Europe to America 
was one of those transactions which render the period of their 
accomplishment memorable for all time. "Our Revolutionary 
Fathers," says Lowell, "were men with empires in their brains," 
men of prophetic foresight, and the actual results of their labors 
far surpassed the ulterior dreams of the wisest of them. The vast 
territory acquired was greater in extent than France, Germany, 
Great Britain, Italy, Spain and Portugal combined and is now 
occupied by fourteen great states of the American Union, 
whose taxable wealth exceeds $7,000,000,000, and whose pop- 
ulation is over 1 6,000,000. It is true that in any event the ac- 
quisition of this territory by the United States could hardly have 
been long delayed, although had it passed into the hands of Eng- 
land, our history might have been far different. It was well, 



4 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

however, that it came into our possession so early. The spirit of 
the age, under the guidance of that Providence which directs the 
great movements of human society, conspired to accomplish this 
event so fraught with blessings to mankind, and this in spite of 
the ambitions and conflicting characteristics of the distinguished 
actors by whom the deal was made. On one hand was Napo- 
leon, who dreamed of establishing a Latin empire reaching from 
the Gulf to the Pacific Ocean, assuring in future ages the glory 
and power of France, and he of all the sovereigns of Europe 
seemed least likely to yield up so glorious a project. On the 
other hand was Jefferson, who was wedded to the doctrine of 
strict construction of the American constitution and doubted that it 
permitted the acquisition of this territory by purchase. He was 
wisely guided, however, "by the spirit that giveth life and 
not by the letter that killeth," and he stands vindicated in history. 
No human influence could have controlled either of these men 
and it seemed as if they obeyed the mandate of fate which was, 
in the case of each, the mandate of enlightened patriotism. France, 
having divested herself of this encumbrance, was better fitted for 
the supreme gladiatorial effort which awaited her and Jefferson 
gained immortal fame by preferring an immense benefit to his 
country rather than consistency in the narrow construction of the 
written law. 

The first year after the acquisition of this territory, it was plac- 
ed under the jurisdiction of the judges and governor of Indiana. 
Two years later it was designated as the Territory of Louisiana 
and after about eight years more, was included in the Territory 
of Missouri. 

Nine years afterward, in 1 82 1 , that portion of the "purchase" 
which includes Iowa was forever dedicated to freedom by a com- 
promise with the forces of slavery and for fourteen years our 
present state was a political orphan without governmental parent- 
age. For the purpose of temporary government, it was attached 
to the Territory of Michigan. The Capitol was in the eastern 



ABSTRACT OF TITLE 5 

part of the territory, at Belmont, Iowa County, (now Lafayette 
County) Wisconsin, where the first session of the Territorial Leg- 
islature was held in 1 836. Gov. Mason, in his message of Sept., 
1 , 1 834, referred to the inhabitants of the Iowa country as "an in- 
telligent, industrious and enterprising people who depended alone 
on their own virtue, intelligence and good sense as a guarantee of 
their mutual and undivided rights," and he urged the immediate 
organization for them of one or two counties with one or two 
townships in each county. This suggestion was acted upon in 
"An act to lay off and organize counties west of the Mississippi 
River" which was passed and approved. The counties of Des 
Moines and Dubuque were subsequently formed. This act pro- 
vided that each county should constitute a township, and provided 
also for an election of township officers on the first Monday in 
November, 1 834. It appears that the offices of the newly ac- 
quired counties— each of these large enough to make a respect- 
able state—were filled by the Governor of the Territory of Michi- 
gan, by and with the consent of the Legislative Council. The 
people were impatient because of existing conditions, there being 
no courts of civil or criminal jurisdiction, and, impelled by the 
sentiment of American liberty with a desire to govern themselves, 
held a delegate convention in November, 1837. Here the at- 
tention of Congress was called to this subject of vital importance 
to the people west of the Mississippi. The people of the west- 
ern part of what had been the Territory of Michigan had fram- 
ed and adopted a ^ate con^itution as early as 1 835, and had 
elected state officers, but on account of a dispute with Ohio as 
to boundaries. Congress was in no hurry to recognize the new 
state. The territorial epoch of our history dates from the 4th of 
July, 1 836, when Wisconsin was constituted a separate territory 
for the purpose of temporary government, and our first code of 
law was an act to establish the territorial government of Wiscon- 
sin. We must remember that at that time Iowa was a constitu- 
ent part and not an adjunct of Wisconsin and that the area west 



6 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

with indefinite borders, was largely in excess of the area east of 
the Mississippi River. After one session of the territorial legis- 
lature, the seat of government was transferred from Belmont to 
Burlington. In the year 1 838 the name "Iowa" was given to 
that portion west of the river, known as the "Black Hawk Pur- 
chase," which was a strip of land along the eastern border of 
Iowa, beginning fifty miles north of the border of Missouri and 
extending to the mouth of the upper Iowa River, containing per- 
haps six million acres. The western line of the territory was 
parallel with the Mississippi River. After this organization was 
effected, the people at once became interested and eager for the 
formation of a new territory separate from Wisconsin. Meet- 
ings were held and a general campaign of education inaugurated 
among the people throughout the proposed state. The people 
of Des Moines County were the first to make a move in this direction 
owing probably to the fact that Burlington, the capital, was locat- 
ed in its borders, and would give them a commanding influence 
in the movement. A spontaneous outpouring of the people in 
this little town of six or eight hundred inhabitants occurred Sept. 
16, 1837, and in the spirit of our democratic institutions it was 
resolved that "while we have the utmost confidence in the abil- 
ity, integrity and patriotism of those who control the destinies of 
our present territorial government and of our delegates in the 
Congress of the United States, we do nevertheless look to a div- 
ision of the territory and the organization of a separate territorial 
government by Congress, west of the Mississippi River, as the 
only means of immediately and fully securing to the citizens there- 
of the benefits and immunities of a government of laws." In less 
than two months afterwards, delegates from seven organized 
counties formulated and sent a memorial to Congress relating to 
pre-emption, the northern boundary of Missouri and a division of 
the territory. The meeting was well timed, coming during a ses- 
sion of the Legislative Assembly. The members of its body were 
observers of the earnestness and impressed with the justice of 



ABSTRACT OF TITLE 7 

the claim and joined with the people of the proposed new 
state of Iowa in their movement for statehood, issuing a lengthy 
recommendation to Congress that their reque^ be granted. 
Congress accordingly took the matter under consideration and 
favorable action was taken by both House and Senate, which 
received on June 1 2, 1 838, the approval of President Van 
Buren. 

There was, however, persistent hostility to this act from south- 
ern members of Congress who were jealous of the growing pow- 
er and influence of the North, which they considered a menace to 
their peculiar institution of slavery. To preserve the balance of 
power between the two sections, they insisted they would 
oppose the admission of free states so long as the fanatical 
North poured into the House memorials against the annexation 
of Texas. Mr. Shepard of North Carolina found other reasons. 
He contended that the object of the measure was really to open 
up fresh fields for land sharks and speculators and to find places 
for political favorites. In the course of his remarks he stated that 
he had no sympathy with the settlers, whom he styled "squat- 
ters," "who have left their own homes and seized upon the pub- 
lic lands, cut down the timber, built houses and cultivated the 
soil as if it were their own property." "These are they who re- 
quire a governor and council, judges and marshals, when every 
act of their lives is contrary to justice and every petition which 
they make is an evidence of their guilt and violence. We, who 
are insulted, whose authority is trampled under foot, are asked 
for new privileges and favors. The guardians of the law are 
approached by its open contemners and begged to establish for 
these modest gentlemen a dignified government." He was very 
emphatically in favor of putting them off at the point of the bay- 
onet if they did not behave more peaceably. He declared that 
if the Territory of Iowa be now established it would soon be- 
come a state "and if we cross the Mississippi under the power- 
ful patronage of this government, the cupidity and enterprise of 



8 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

our people will carry the system still further, and before long the 
Rocky Mountains will be scaled and the valley of the Columbia 
River included in our domain." He declared that it was high 
time to call a halt. The policy had been deeply injurious to the 
South. "If all the people born in North Carolina had remained 
in its limits, our swamps and low grounds would have rivaled the 
valley of the Nile in production and our pine barrens would have 
been flourishing with the vine, the olive and the mulberry. 
Others may act as it pleases them, but I v^all never sustain a pol- 
icy so fraught with disaster to the people wi\h whom I am con- 
nected. If these remarks be unavailing, the patriot should fear 
for the republic." Senator Ewing declared that he would not ob- 
ject to giving each rascal who crossed the river one thousand dol- 
lars in order to get rid of him. They were otherwise referred to 
as a lawless and undesirable rabble. These and similar utter- 
ances were inspired by prejudice, jealousy and ignorance, ignoring 
the real purpose of the so-called "squatters." Notwithstanding all 
this, the well organized opposition came to naught. Iowa became 
a territory and her territorial government began in 1836 and 
closed in 1846. 

General Henry Dodge was the first territorial governor. His 
successor was Robt. Lucas, venerable in years and of wide po- 
litical influence. He was born in Virginia, was governor of Ohio 
two terms and had served in the legislature in that state in 1 832, 
when he was named as the chairman of the first National Con- 
vention of the Democratic party. Armed wath the authority of 
a commission from President Van Buren, he arrived in Burling- 
ton in August, 1 838. His administration was noted for free use 
of the veto power and he often clashed with the Territorial Leg- 
islature when their views did not coincide with his own. It was 
early in the session of the Council that it was resolved "that 
when an act was presented to the governor for approval he shall 
within reasonable time make known to the House in which said 
act shall have originated, his approval thereof; or if not approved, 



ABSTRACT OF TITLE 9 

the act shall be returned with his objection thereto." Some 
time after the Governor said officially, "I see no place in the or- 
ganic law that vests the Council and House of Representatives 
wath the right to dictate to the Executive in the discharge of his 
official duties." The Council then took steps towards the regu- 
lation by statue of all official intercourse between the legislative 
and executive departments of the territorial government. The 
Governor vetoed this bill, closing his official objection with the 
statement that "any act will be retained under advisement or re- 
turned to the Legislative Assembly with my objections at such 
time and in such way and manner as I may for the time 
being deem to be most advisable." The House and Council by 
resolution asked the Governor to respond with his approval or 
rejection, immediately after the act should be presented to him. 
The Governor respectfully declined to agree to this. James W. 
Grimes, a member, reported that the Governor's executive veto 
was uncalled for and unwarranted. Other members proposed 
that the people should be heard by those who represented them; 
that their wishes should be regarded in preference to the authority 
of the Federal Government or a Federal officer; that as free men 
they could not acquiesce in such high handed proceedings. An- 
other resolution was passed, stating that Robert Lucas was unfit 
to be governor of a free people and asking the President to re- 
call him immediately. In this both houses joined, declaring that 
he who dares not defend their rights in the hour of peril, "stand 
as a sentinel to guard them, would be unworthy of the name of 
freeman." The Governor's faults were all paraded before the 
President, who took no action in the matter. The Legislature 
met again in 1 839, when the Governor, without alluding to the 
tempest through which he had passed, closed his message as 
follows: "It is with heartfelt gratitude to Almighty God that I am 
through His special providence permitted to address this Legis- 
lative Assembly. ' In this message the Governor presented 
strong reasons in favor of creating a state and called attention to 



10 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

the fact that the states of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois 
had made rapid strides after they emerged from territorial to 
state government. 

Again in 1 840 he renewed his recommendation and the mat- 
ter was submitted to the people to provide for a State Constitu- 
tional Convention. The official returns showed a signal defeat 
of the proposed measure, there being 937 votes for and 2907 
against. The three years of office of Governor Lucas had ex- 
pired without seeing his hopes realized and he could hardly be 
expected to be re-appointed as the Whigs had elected William 
Henry Harrison to the presidency. John Chambers of Ken- 
tucky, who was appointed to the governorship, proved a fortu- 
nate selection. A man of experience and sound judgment, Gov- 
ernor Chambers believed that the population had so increased 
that statehood was fully warranted. The "Distribution Act," 
which provided that Iowa, along with twenty-six other states, 
should participate in the pro rata distribution of the vast proceeds 
from the sale of public lands, and the fact that five hundred thou- 
sand acres of land for internal improvements should be granted 
to each new state, were reasons still further warranting admission 
to the Union. This, he insisted, would overcome the objections 
of the voters to the expense of state government, as the revenue 
would amply provide for this, and taxation, therefore, be no 
heavier than in territorial form, where the expense was borne by 
the general government. Like his predecessor, he importuned 
the third Legislature to pass an act providing for an expression of 
opinion on the part of the people at the polls, which was immed- 
iately put into effect and approved on Feb. 1 6, 1 842. A "viva 
voce" vote on "convention" or "no convention" resulted as before, 
in a declaration against statehood, after the most notable and ex- 
citing compaign in territorial history. The struggle had now 
largely been transferred to politics and it became a strife for party 
supremacy. There were ambitious and aspiring patriots who 
would be willing to serve the people in positions of honor and 



ABSTRACT OF TITLE 1 1 

trust—for a consideration. Both the Democrats, who were in the 
majority, and the Whigs, who hoped to gain ascendency by seiz- 
ing upon some issue that would capture the voters, entered the 
campaign with the spirit so characteristic of blind party zeal. 
The election of August 1 842 was disappointing to the advocates 
of statehood, the returns showing every county against it. The 
Whigs were elated and the Democrats chagrined. Another 
year passed on and Governor Chambers again declared that as 
there were 75,000 people in the territory, it should certainly be 
admitted as a state, and again recommended that the wishes of 
the people be ascertained by a vote. He advised the Assembly 
further "to apply to Congress to fix and establish during the pres- 
ent session a boundary for the proposed state and to sanction the 
calling of a convention to make provision for our reception into 
the Union as soon as we shall be prepared to demand it." He 
said: "The establishment of a boundary for us by Congress will 
prevent the intervention of any difficulty or delay in our admission 
into the Union which might result should we assume limits which 
that body might not be disposed to concede us." The viva voce 
vote was taken at the township election in 1 844. The cam- 
paign was very similar to the preceding one— parries divided a 
before—but there had been a reversal of public senriment and the 
proposirion for "convention" carried by a majority larger than 
that by which it had been defeated two years before. Accord- 
ingly, at the August election of the same year, seventy-five dele- 
gates were elected, the Democrats winning a great victory over 
their opponents and elecring more than two-thirds of their mem- 
bers. The convenrion met at Iowa City, adopted a constitution 
and fixed boundaries that did not meet with the approval of Con- 
gress, the reason being given that they embraced too wide a ter- 
ritory. 

By an act approved March 3, 1 843, the House adopted the 
following boundary by a vote of ninety for and forty against: 
"Beginning at the mouth of the Des Moines River, thence by the 



12 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

middle channel of the Mississippi to a parallel of latitude passing 
through the mouth of the Mankato or Blue Earth River; thence 
west along said parallel of latitude to a point where it is inter- 
sected by the meridian line 1 7 degrees 30 minutes west of the 
meridian of Washington City; thence due south to the 
northern boundary line of the state of Missouri; thence eastward 
following that boundary to a point at which the same intersects 
with the Des Moines River; thence by the middle channel of 
that river to the place of beginning." 

Had this boundary line been accepted, the line of our state 
would have been forty-two miles north of the present one and 
would have included eleven counties of the state of Minnesota. 
The state would have been about 1 80 miles wide from east to 
west and about 250 miles long from north to south and would 
have lost the Missouri slope. The western boundary would have 
been on a line beginning from Green and Carroll counties to a 
point a short distance west of the town of Prescott in Adams 
county. The proposed boundaries were considered by the 
people of the territory as an outrage and, rather than submit, they 
determined to patiently wait, believing that in all probability the 
natural geographical boundary—the Missouri River— would in 
time be conceded. The eagerness for statehood came near 
throwing Montgomery county beyond the border of Iowa. So 
doubtful the proposition seemed that even the representative in 
Congress, Hon. A. C. Dodge, advised the people to ratify the 
constitution and accept the proposed boundaries, stating that he 
knew "the country along the Missouri was fertile, but the divid- 
ing ridge of the waters running into the Mississippi and Missouri 
rivers, which had been called 'the hills of the prairie,' is barren 
and sterile." He also said that he "believed it would be im- 
possible under the circumstances to obtain a single square mile 
more." The people, however, rejected the proposition by a 
majority of 996, the result being a surprise to all. They were not 
so much interested in the national policies as they were in creat- 



ABSTRACT OF TITLE 13 

ing a grand and compact state between the two rivers. One 
member of Congress declared that it was simply an outrage for 
the people to endeavor to carve out a state to suit themselves; 
that they might even become so whimsical as to extend the 
boundary line westward to the Columbia River. 

Stephen A. Douglas, of the Committee on Territories, acting 
in harmony with his idea, which afterwards became the estab- 
lished principle of this eminent statesman— the doctrine of "Squat- 
ter Sovereignty" (allowing the people to settle their local ciff airs in 
their own way)— reported in favor of the present boundaries of ' 
our state. What was known as the "Lucas Boundary" was 
supplanted by the "Duncan Amendment," but it was only by a 
sharp contest both in Iowa and Washington, and consequently, 
much delay, that both branches of Congress agreed upon the Lu- 
cas Boundary, by which the western limits of our state were fixed 
by the Missouri River on the west and the middle channel of the 
Big Sioux River unril it is intersected by the parallel of 43 de- 
grees and 30 minutes, then east until said parallel intersects the 
middle channel of the Mississippi. The boundary question from 
the first was of absorbing interest. It wrecked the constitution 
of 1 844 and narrowly escaped defeat in 1 846, when it carried 
by a majority of 456 out of a total of 18,528 votes. 

At the first state election, Ansel Briggs, Democrat, was elected 
by a majority of 61 votes. The same party also elected a ma- 
jority of the members of the General Assembly. 

Gathered in the old stone Capitol at Iowa City, in the pres- 
ence of the General Assembly, Judge Charles Mason, Chief Jus- 
tice of the Supreme Court, administered the oath to the first gov- 
ernor of Iowa. Sixteen days later the constitution received the 
signature of President Polk, it having been in the meantime sub- 
mitted to Congress and approved. Therefore from the 28th 
day of December, 1 846, Iowa has been on equal footing with 
the other commonwealths of the American Union. 

In the evolution of human society, the making of a state fol- 



14 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

lows the law of progress plainly indicated by Nature. The glory 
of the state is not in the fertility of its soil, the beauty of its scenery 
or desirable water courses, but rather in the character, intelligence, 
enterprise and patriotism of its citizens. In tracing the history of 
our territorial epoch, it becomes a matter of wonder that the 
people of the formative period should have had the wisdom to 
lay the governmental foundations so securely and to insist on 
what appears to us now to be the natural as well as most logical 
boundary lines, and to frame a constitution that has so well met 
the needs of our commonwealth with little or no important alter- 
ation. The most eminent judges and lawyers of the present day 
declare the first code of Iowa to have been a monument of legal 
wisdom and a model for succeeding legislation. 

The main actors at this stage of our history "were the politi- 
cal pathfinders in our political history; the real makers of our 
fundamental laws." They were typical Americans—the western 
Yankees, if you please—men of spirit, of nerve, of broad and lib- 
eral views, of tolerance of opinions; in fact, the typical man whose 
spirit still today dominates this great state of ours. They were 
farmers, lawyers, merchants, preachers and teachers. They 
were for the most part men of the best ancestry, who traced 
their origin to the Pilgrim Fathers rather than to the slave hold- 
ing population of the south. They were welded together by the 
law of attraction for a common purpose and a common end. 
Until statutory enactment their natural reverence for right and 
justice was their only law. In another place in this book 
it will be the pleasure of the writer to make special men- 
tion of three men who assisted in creating our state, who 
were members of the territorial and early state legislatures, and 
whose names will be forever associated with the historic record 
of Iowa and Montgomery County. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE ORGANIZATION, NAMING AND SURVEY- 
ING OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 

It was not until four years after the admission of Iowa to the 
Union that steps were taken for the organization of the south- 
western counties. A bill was passed by the Legislature of 1 850, 
organizing several counties in Southern Iowa, and the act was 
appoved by the governor on Jan. I 5, 1 85 1 . A survey of this 
section was also ordered and took place during the same year. 
At this time there were not over half a dozen families within the 
present bounds of the county, and no political organization was 
attempted until later on. The next legislative act referring to 
the county was approved Jan. 12, 1 853, when it was included 
with Adams county for revenue and judicial purposes, and the 
population at this time probably did not include over fifty or 
seventy-five people at the outside. The details of this early 
history, in order, are given in the chronology at the end of the 
book. 

The first appearance of the name of the county was in the 
act authorizing its organization, and it is not positively known at 
whose suggestion the name of Montgomery was adopted. It is 
known, however, that it was given in honor of the distinguished 
young patriot who lost his life in the early years of the Revolution- 
ary War, while leading a forlorn expedition against the British in 
Canada. Biographical data concerning him are not readily ac- 
cessible and a short sketch of the life of one of the purest and most 
earnest of the Revolutionary patriots certainly can not be out of 
place in this history, even aside from the fact that his name has 
been given to our county. 



16 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

Richard Montgomery was born near Feltrim, Ireland, on the 
2d of December, 1 736. He came of a good family and was 
educated in Trinity College, Dublin. At an early age he enter- 
ed the British army and the first record he made as a soldier 
was in the siege of Louisburg, Canada, by the British forces, the 
8th of June, I 758. Of his services here, Bancroft says: "At 
that landing, none was more gallant than Richard Montgomery, 
just one and twenty, Irish by birth and an officer in Wolfe's Bri- 
gade. His commander honored him with well deserved praise 
and promotion to a lieutenancy." In 1 762 he was still further 
promoted, being advanced to the rank of captain. Ten years 
later he gave up his commission in the British army and settled 
in New York City where, in 1 773, he married the daughter of 
Judge Robt. R. Livingston, who later became distinguished in 
Revolutionary times. When the Revolutionary War broke out 
he was at once selected by Congress as one of the most avail- 
able leaders. Just after the Battle of Bunker Hill had destroyed 
all hopes of peaceable settlement with the mother country, eight 
brigadiers were elected from New England, and Montgomery 
was second on the list. In connection with this distinction, the 
historian Bancroft adds that he was well informed as a statesman, 
faultless in private life and a patriot from the heart. His career 
from this time onward may well be told in the words of the dis- 
tinguished historian whom we have already quoted: 

"We have seen Richard Montgomery, who had served in the 
army from the age of fifteen, gain distinction in the seven years' 
war. Failing after the peace in his pursuit of the promotion to 
which his good services gave him right to aspire, he sold his com- 
mission and emigrated to New York. Here in 1 773, he renew- 
ed his acquaintance with the family of Robert R. Livingston, 
and married his eldest daughter. Never intending to draw his 
sword again, studious in his habits, he wished for a country life 
at Rhinebeck; and his wife, whose ciffections he entirely possess- 
ed, willingly conformed to his tastes. The father of his wife 




CARL K. SNYDER-A Montgomery county boy who has attained high ranic in litera- 
ture. His book, "New Conceptions of Science," has run through several 
editions and has been translated into German. 



ORGANIZATION AND NAMING 1 7 

used to say that, ' if American liberty should not be maintained, 
he would carry his family to Switzerland, as the only free country 
in the world. ' Her grandfather, the aged Robert Livingston, 
was the staunchest patriot of them all. In 1 773, in his eighty- 
fourth year, he foretold the conflict with England; at the news of 
the retreat of the British from Concord, he confidently announced 
American independence. After the battle of Bunker Hill, as he 
lay calmly on his death-bed, his last words were: ' What news 
from Boston? " 

"The County of Dutchess, in April 1775, selected Mont- 
gomery as a delegate to the first provincial convention in New 
York, where he distinguished himself by modesty, decision, and 
sound judgment. Accepting his appointment as brigadier-gener- 
al, he reluctantly bade adieu to his 'quiet scheme of life, per- 
haps, ' he said, ' forever; but the will of an oppressed people, 
compelled to choose between liberty and slavery, must be obey- 
ed.' 

"On the sixth of August, from Albany, he advised that Tryon 
should be conducted out of the way of mischief to Hartford. He 
reasoned in favor of the occupation of Canada, as the means of 
guarding against Indian hostilities, and displaying to the world 
the strength of the confederated colonies; it was enlarging the 
sphere of operations, but a failure would not impair the means of 
keeping the command of Lake Champlain. Summoned by 
Schuyler to Ticonderoga, he was attended as far as Saratoga by 
his wife, whose gloomy forebodings he soothed by cheerfulness 
and good humor. His last words to her at parting were: ' You 
will never have cause to blush for your Montgomery. ' " 

Passing over the hardships which he and his troops endured 
in reaching the city of Quebec, we will again adopt the words 
of this historian in his vivid description of the fatal attack by the 
Americans on the almost impregnable fortress which guarded the 
city: 

" The night of the twenty-sixth of December was clear, and so 



18 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

cold that no man could handle his arms or scale a wall. 
The evening of the twenty-seventh was hazy, and the troops 
were put in motion; but, as the sky soon cleared up, the general, 
who was tender of their lives, called them back, choosing to 
wait for the shelter of clouds and darkness. 

" For the next three days the air was serene, and a mild wes- 
terly wind brightened the sky. On the thirtieth a snowstorm 
from the northeast set in. But a few hours more of the old 
year remained, and with it the engagement of many of his 
troops would expire. Orders were therefore given for the 
troops to be ready at two o'clock of the following morning; and, 
that they might recognize one another, each soldier wore in his 
cap a piece of white paper, on which some of them wrote: 
" Liberty or Death." 

"Colonel James Livingston, with less than two hundred 
Canadians was to attract attention by appearing before St. John's 
gate, on the southwest; while a company of Americans under 
Brown were to feign a movement on Cape Diamond, where the 
wall faces south by west, and from that high ground, at the 
proper time were to fire rockets, as the signal for beginning the 
attacks on the lower town, under Arnold from the west and 
north, under Montgomery from the south and east. If success- 
ful, both would meet in Mountain street, near Prescott gate. 

" The general, who reserved for his own party less than three 
hundred Yorkers, led them in Indian file from headquarters at 
Holland House to Wolfe's Cove, and then about two miles far- 
ther along the shore. In several places they were obliged to 
scramble up slant rocks covered with two feet of snow, and then, 
with a precipice on their right, to slide down fifteen or twenty 
feet. The wind, which was at east by north, blew furiously in 
their faces with cutting hail, which the eye could not endure; 
their constant step wore the frozen snow into little lumps of ice, 
so that the men were fatigued by struggles not to fall, and could 
not keep their arms dry. 



ORGANIZATION AND NAMING 19 

"The signal from Cape Diamond being given more than half 
an hour too soon, the general, with his aides-de-camp, Macpher- 
son and Burr, pushed on with the front, composed of Chees- 
man's company and Mott's; and more than half an hour be- 
fore day they arrived at the first barrier, with the guides and 
carpenters. The rest of the party lagged behind; and the lad- 
ders were not within half a mile. Montgomery and Cheesman 
were the first that entered the undefended barrier, passing on 
between the rock and the pickets which the carpenters began to 
saw and wrench away. While a message was sent back to 
hurry up the troops, Montgomery went forward to observe the 
path before him. It was a very narrow defile, falling away to 
the river precipitously on the one side, and shut in by the scarp- 
ed rock and overhanging cliff on the other, so that not more than 
five or six persons could walk abreast; a house, built of logs and 
extending on the south nearly to the river, with loopholes of 
musketry and a battery of two three-pounders, intercepted the 
passage. It was held by a party consisting of thirty Canadians 
and eight British militiamen under John Coffin with nine sea- 
men and cannoneers under Barnsfare, the master of a transport. 
The general listened and heard no sound; but lights from lan- 
terns on the Plains of Abraham, as well as the signal rockets had 
given the alarm; and in the morning twilight, through the storm 
his troops were seen in full march from Wolfe's Cove. At their 
approach to the barrier where Coffin commanded, the sailors 
stood at their guns with lighted linstocks. 

" Montgomery waited until about sixty men had joined him in- 
side of the row of pickets; then exclaiming, ' Men of New York, 
you will not fear to follow where your general leads; push on, 
brave boys! Quebec is ours! ' He pressed forward at a double 
quick time to carry the battery. As he appeared on a little ris- 
ing in the ground at a distance of fifty yards or less from the 
mouths of the cannon which were loaded with grape shot, 
Barnsfare discharged them with deadly aim. Aaron Burr, who 



20 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

showed personal bravery and good conduct, escaped unhurt; 
Montgomery, his aid Macpherson, the young and gallant Chees- 
man, and ten others fell dead, Montgomery from three wounds. 
With him the soul of the expedition fled. Donald Campbell, 
who assumed the command of the Yorkers, seeing no chance of 
success, ordered an immediate retreat, which was effected with- 
out further loss. " 

The fate of the gallant young officer was mourned by even 
his enemies, and his bravery was praised in the English Parlia- 
ment by Edmund Burke and Lord North. He and his lieuten- 
ants who fell with him were buried in the city of Quebec, but 
in 1818, with the consent of the British goverment, his remains 
were removed to New York City, in accordance with special act 
of the state legislature. There was a great demonstration in 
various cities and towns along the line of travel and the body of 
Montgomery was finally solemnly interred in old St. Paul's 
Church, where it now rests. It is said that his widow, who had 
remained true to his memory for the forty-three years after his 
death, sat in front of the old Livingston homestead on the banks 
of the Hudson and saw the funeral boat, bearing her husband's 
remains, pass down the river. We might also remember in con- 
nection with Montgomery that Judge Livingston, the father of 
Montgomery's wife, was one of the commission sent by Jefferson 
to negotiate the Louisiana Purchase, which made Montgomery 
county a part of the country for which the gallant soldier gave 
his life. And, furthermore, we might record the remarkable and 
prophetic words of the distinguished patriot, after signing the 
treaty with France: "We have lived long, but this is the no- 
blest work of our whole lives. * * The instruments which 
we have just signed will cause no tears to be shed; they prepare 
ages of happiness for innumerable generations of human creatures. 
The Mississippi and Missouri will see them succeed one another 
and multiply, truly worthy of the regard and care of Providence 
in the bosom of equality, under just laws, freed from the errors 
of superstition and the scourges of bad government." 



ORGANIZATION AND NAMING 21 

An interesting fact connected with Montgomery and the county 
which bears his name is that at the time of the publication of 
this history there are at least three of his direct lineal descend- 
ants residing in the county,~Mrs. Smith McPherson, Mrs. Ella 
B. Young and Mrs. A. C. Hinchman, all of Red Oak. 

SURVEYING THE COUNTY. 

Fifty-four years ago, surveyors for the first time traversed the 
area, now Montgomery County, crossing streams and divides and 
running lines and establishing corners. They were the fir^ 
white men who trod upon the virgin prairie and it may be of in- 
terest to look into the details of their work. Surveying was of 
the fir^ importance to the pioneers; the boundaries of the land 
must be defined by the government before the settler could be 
given a legal claim to his farm or home. Hence the survey al- 
ways preceded or closely followed the fir^ immigrant. 

The surveyor and his assistants, properly equipped with com- 
pass or transit, chain and camp equipage, and supplied with food 
for perhaps months, began their work. He first located the starting 
point which had been determined for him in advance; otherwise 
he must start at a point near the mouth of the Arkansas River 
where an imaginary line, known as the " base line, " had been es- 
tablished by the national government, and he must also locate an- 
other imaginary line crossing it at right angles, extending north 
and south. This latter line is called the "meridian line," and in 
locating for Montgomery County the surveyor would have to fol- 
low the line known as the 5th Principal Meridian. Beginning 
where the two lines intersect and extending east and west, north 
and south, are lines marked by spaces six miles apart, marked 1 , 
2, 3, etc. 

Six miles north of the base line on the meridian line Township 
No. 1 is marked and the township adjoining it on the west would 
be described as Township 1 , Range 2, west; and so on, num- 
bering until Township 7 1 is reached, this being the south line of 



22 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

Montgomery County. He would find, by measurement, that 
thirty-five townships had been established west of the 5 th Princi- 
pal Meridian and that it was 2 1 miles from that meridian to the 
south-east comer of Jackson Township; that township being 
numbered 71 north of Range 36 west of the 5th Principal 
Meridian. Scott Township would be No. 37, and Grant Town- 
ship No. 38, west, of the same meridian. The meridian lines are 
astronomical lines and certain calculations have to be made owing 
to the curvature of the earth, to preserve exactness in the guide 
lines. The government survey of the public lands, in the nature of 
things can not be exact; consequently there are fractional pieces 
of land on the north and west sides of the townships, and in des- 
cribing lands the words "more or less according to government 
survey" are inserted. It often occurs that the townships are a 
trifle short or a little in excess of the six miles square. Beginning 
is made at the northeast corner section of the township, and the 
sections are numbered from one to thirty-six, by counting from 
west to east, alternately. Thus Section 6 is the northwest corner 
section while Section 7 adjoins it on the south, and Section 1 2 
would be next south of Section 1 ; Section 1 3, likewise would be 
the second section south of Section 1 , and so on until 36 is 
reached. 

Montgomery County is in the second tier of counties from the 
southern line of the state and the tenth county in the tier from the 
Mississippi River. All of the counties in this tier west of Henry 
County have but twelve congressional townships; each having 
four townships east and west and three north and south. Mont- 
gomery County has four townships less than Cass County on the 
north and of Page County on the south. The state constitution 
provides that twelve congressional townships shall be the minimum 
number constituting a county. 

Contracts were made between the government and the survey- 
or for a stipulated price per mile; all lines counted by running 
measure. The lines around the sections were not always straight 



SURVEYING THE COUNTY 23 

lines, which may be easily seen in traveling the public highways. 
On the prairie, marks were made by cutting out a square of the 
tough sod with a spade and forming a slight elevation. These 
mounds were eight links of the surveyor's chain from the pit that 
had been made by removing the soil from the mound, so that 
there could be no mistake, as both mound and pit were in evi- 
dence. Into these mounds, at the corners of the square mile or 
sections and midway between them, were posts, called half mile 
posts. These were square stakes driven into the ground with the 
number of the section cut thereon. The pits were south of the 
stakes at the corners of the sections and east at the half mile 
posts. In the timber a growing tree would be marked and the 
distance and the direction of the posts noted in the surveyor's 
field notes. It was not many years after the survey was com- 
pleted until the small stakes rotted or were burned by the annual 
prairie fires, and it often became a very difficult and perplexing 
affair to re-locate them. The mounds everywhere thrown up by 
gophers could not always be distinguished from those made with 
the spade. 

The work of the county surveyor was simple when the marks 
or original posts could be found. In subdividing a section into 
one-fourths a line was drawn from one half mile post to the one 
on the opposite side, which would intersect another, drawn in a 
similar manner from the other sides, at the middle of the section. 
The point of intersection would be the corner from which, by a 
like process, the one-fourth of a section could be divided into 
forty acre tracts or smaller if desirable. The smaller area to be 
surveyed, the more labor required to locate it. 



CHAPTER III 



THE PRAIRIE. AND THE RIVERS WITH THEIR 
WATER-MILLS. 

To one familiar with Nature in her bold and rugged forms 
only, her rock ribbed and wooded hills, her majestic mountains 
and roaring cataracts, the first view of a prairie was a scene of 
strange and surpassing loveliness. Before it was uptumed by 
the plow and dotted here and there wath artificial groves and 
human habitations, its appearance, when swept by the fresh sum- 
mer breezes, was not unlike the ocean when billow after billow 
is seen in every direction, bounded only by the horizon. Well 
has the poet described it: 

"These, the gardens of the deserts— these 
The unshorn fields, boundless and beautiful, 

Lo! They stretch 
In airy undulations, far away. 
As though the ocean, in the gentlest swell, 
Stood still, with all his rounded billows fixed, 
And motionless forever." 

This similarity might have been noticed still further as one lis- 
tened to the gentle sounds always heard when there was nothing 
distracting, not unlike the murmuring sea, and caused by the 
constant breeze passing over the bending grasses. 

The onward march of eager enterprise and progress drowns 
Nature's voice and dulls the ear to her whisperings. It was on 
the prciirie that Providence bestowed in fullest measure what- 
ever charms inhere in solitude. The succession of the seasons 
brought changes to the entrancing view. The green of Spring 
and Summer merged into the brown of Autumn and then into 



THE PRAIRIE, RIVERS AND WATERMILl^ 25 

the white of Winter, when the grasses were hidden away in- the 
embrace of the snow, awaiting the sunshine and rain to be 
quickened into life again. When Springtime returned, the vel- 
vet grasses covered the landscape with a carpet of green as even 
and beautiful as a new mown lawn, and the succession of the 
seasons began anew. And who shall tell of the beauty of the 
prairie wild flowers~how they fairly flamed in the glory of the 
summer months,~the purple phlox, the graceful lily and a thous- 
and others now rare indeed. 

It seemed almost a sacrilege to mar such a picture. We of 
the present day can hardly realize that prior to the year 1 865 
the uplands of Montgomery County had never been scarred by 
the plow. 

Had there been an elevated look from the center of each of 
the twelve townships of this county, one could not have seen 
any part that was under cultivation. There was nothing to ob- 
struct the view or to hinder the ravages of the fierce fires that 
swept yearly over the prairies, and whose dull red glow against 
the horizon became the terror of the pioneer. Few, indeed, 
were so incautious as to make no preparation against them. The 
method of protection generally employed was to plow a few fur- 
rows around the habitation and to build " back fires, " starting 
from some trodden path or road and burning the grass slowly 
against the wind, thus placing a burned strip between the 
pioneer's home and the oncoming flame. These fires were al- 
most continuous during the entire dry season and the flames 
could often be seen at night at a great distance, reflected on the 
sky. They left in their blackened path, ashes which were taken 
up and hurled in clouds by the high winds which generally pre- 
vailed in connection with fires. This often continued for many 
days after great areas had been denuded of grass in this and sur- 
rounding counties. The smoke and dust at such times were of 
such density as to partially obscure the sun for many days. Con- 
stant tilling of the soil and timber culture have no doubt brought 



26 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

about some climatic changes, and different weather conditions 
prevail at the present day. Generally, the sky, bending over the 
prairies, was clear, but when the clouds gathered, they cast their 
shadows in great, fantastic shapes which chased one another over 
hill and valley, strong in contrast of light and shade and not un- 
pleasing to behold. These prairies had been sunkissed and 
storm swept for thousands of years and through the mighty 
agencies of fire, earthquake, flood and electricity, had been pre- 
pared for the abode, first of primitive, then of civilized man, and 
we were distinguished indeed who were permitted by Provi- 
dence to be the first occupants, the pioneers who turned into 
fields of golden grain the splendid wastes of this virgin soil. And 
the love of freedom was deep indeed in the hearts of the pioneers, 
for a broad, new land is the best home for liberty. The atmos- 
phere was ever the freshest on the prairies. Every movement of 
humanity has taught greater freedom. Untrammeled people, pos- 
sessing unlimited room, never have taken kindly to arbitrary rules. 
The wide expanse of earth and sky expands the mind and heart, 
and broadens the whole man. Stephen A. Douglas, though a 
native of Vermont, said, after a visit to the prairies, " I found my 
mind liberalized and my opinions enlarged when I got out on 
these broad prairies with only the heavens to bound my vision 
instead of having it circumscribed by the narrow ridges that sur- 
round the valleys where I was born. " It had a tendency to free 
men from traditions and to make them plain, common, unpreten- 
tious and genuine. Freedom from old restraints gave zest to life, 
and the pioneers were ready to carve out their career in their 
own way, guided by morality, truth and duty. 

Through the fertile valleys of the prairies, the principal streams 
of our county flowed sluggishly, often impeded by the rank water 
grasses and their borders fringed by willows and cottonwoods. 
Only one stream in the county was navigable in any degree and 
that with row boats only, but all were fordable in many places. 
In dry weather, even the largest of the streams dwindled to a 



THE PRAIRIE, RIVERS AND WATERMILLS 27 

rivulet, but swollen by the spring and summer rains, they often 
became raging torrents a mile or more in width. Years ago, 
before the iron and stone piers which now support our bridges 
were in use, these streams were forded. The Indian, true to his 
instinct, had found the shallow crossing places and they were 
appropriated and used by the white man afterwards. The Nish- 
nabotna and the Nodaway, like their distinguished relative, the 
great Missouri, into which they flow, were muddy, sullen and 
treacherous, offering a fording place to the unwary settler one 
day and drowning both him and his team at the same crossing 
the next. They were full of " step offs " and shifting sands and 
it was no uncommon thing to find the water varying fifteen feet 
in depth in the short distance of a rod or two. 

While no game fish are found in these waters, they abound 
with such members of the finny tribe as channel-cat, buffalo and 
carp, and cifford at least an excuse for a day's recreation to the 
enthusiastic angler. It must not be thought by the non-resident 
reader that these streams are devoid of beauty, for their banks 
are garnished with tall elms and carpeted with velvety blue 
grass. Farther back are green pastures and fertile fields. One 
would indeed be hard to please who could find nothing beauti- 
ful almost any May day along the rivers of Montgomery County. 
Beds of violets, springing up from a carpet of green, stately trees, 
struggling in the grasp of twining vines; chattering squirrels and 
merry birds help to make up a scene that is not outrivaled for 
lovliness by any gorge where the Colorado wends its way. 
Both are picturesque and only different in the style of beauty. 

Here and there along these waters may be seen moss covered 
piles of stone, relics of the old time mill dams. At other places 
the industrious beaver has at one time plied his trade until inter- 
rupted in his work by the greed of some trapper. Again, a 
huge rock, which geologists tell us came from the stormy North 
in the long ago, will be seen rearing its head in the middle of a 
channel as if inviting battle but only serving as a loafing place for 
sleepy turtles. 



28 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

The resourceful and inventive white man harnessed these 
waters to mill wheels and for years the lumber and flour mills 
were operated by this power. There was something about the 
old mill,~its clattering water wheel, its dam, with the calm 
stretch of waters above and the whirling torrent below it; the 
pleasant nooks for the fishermen in its vicinity, the moments 
passed in gossip among the country people who gathered there,-- 
that made life seem brighter than in the modern way of trading 
a quantity of wheat for a quantity of flour. Romance no longer 
lingers about a mill where power is supplied by steam or elec- 
tricity and where the transaction is purely one of business. It 
is the difference between the morning rays of the sun and the 
yellow gleam of a kerosene lamp; the difference between a 
Christmas dinner at the farm and one purchased at a fashionable 
cafe. 

No prospectus was ever complete, thirty or forty years ago, 
which did not have a picture near the title page of a small boy 
riding his horse to mill, with the grist thrown across the horse's 
shoulders and the miller standing in the door, waiting to assist 
the youthful farmer. Milling was the principal manufacturing 
industry in the county at that early time and the people then took 
as much pride in the old mills as they did when the railroad 
later brought strange engines with pulleys and belts to do 
the work. Of all the pioneer industries, the old mill has been 
the last to give up to inventive genius. The old harrow, made 
of a felled tree, has given way to one made of steel with sharp 
teeth set at any angle desired, and upon the new machine, the 
farmer may ride if he chooses. The old democrat wagon, for 
years the Sunday vehicle of the family, has been supplanted by 
the four-wheeled, rubber-tired carriage. The stone churn is re- 
placed by one propelled by a sniffing gasoline engine. Water is 
pumped by the same power, and the whole farm may be opera- 
ted from a central telephone station. But the old watermill still 
remains and can be found doing business in at least three places 
in the county. 



THE PRAIRIE, RIVERS AND WATERMILLS 29 

Mills located on the Nishnabotna River were: Stover's Mill, 
(not now in use) a mile south of Red Oak; the old Wheeler 
Mill, (originally built in 1 859 and recently burned to the ground, 
but at this writing being rebuilt,) two miles north of Red Oak; 
the Keys Mill, near Stennett, swept away by a flood July 4, 
1 858, and never rebuilt; and the Watson Mill, a short distance 
north of that place. Upon the Nodaway there was a mill near 
the old town of Arlington; one at Morton's Mill, farther north, 
and the old Smith Mill, at Milford or Grant. There was only 
one mill on Walnut Creek, located at Climax, and one at Red 
Oak, located near Eighth and Market streets on Red Oak Creek. 
This list does not include the earliest mills propelled by steam 
power, like the Hendrie Mill at Red Oak and a portable saw 
mill which is operated at Sciola. 



CHAPTER IV. 



THE INDIANS. 

All that is known of this strange people has been learned 
since the discovery of America by the Europeans. Theories, 
plausible and otherwise, have been advanced relative to their 
origin. At a very remote period of time there existed in parts 
of Iowa, human beings with some degree of intelligence and con- 
structive skill, as shown by the mute testimony of the ancient 
mounds and their contents; such as rude engravings on stone 
showing images of elephants and of other animals not now na- 
tive of this country. It is idle to speculate as to the time when 
and the purpose for which these mounds were built or ■ who were 
the successors of the mound builders. The white man and the 
untutored Indian are equally in the dark. The ancestors of the 
American Indian may or may not have been the mound builders. 
We are content to write, not of his origin, but of his modern 
history, and in brief and fragmentary manner, to discuss his oc- 
cupancy of Iowa and Montgomery county. The great question 
why God made some races inferior in intellectual or moral en- 
dowments to others, why He has ordained that all races begin 
their history as savages, — or why the whole history of mankind 
is one of evolution from the chaos and anarchy of barbarism to 
the orderly arrangements of an organized civil society, in which 
the power of the oppressor is limited by the power of the peo- 
ple, is foreign to the purpose of this chapter. 

There were two great families, or divisions, of the American 
Indians — Algonquins and the Sioux. The former occupied the 
territory along the New England coast — the latter the region of 
the Rocky mountains. The Norsemen found the Algonquins 



THE INDIANS 3 1 

in possession of the New England country when they landed at 
Cape Cod in the year of our Lord 1 000, and they were still 
there after the lapse of five hundred years when John and 
Sebastian Cabot landed on the same coast. 

Their star of Empire, like that of their white brother, 
moved westward. The water of the St. Lawrence and 
the great lakes was the route by which in the process of time 
they gained access to the north Mississippi valley. They were 
identified by their language, which was radically different from 
the eight "tongues" spoken by the other Indians of this continent. 

Here they met that other great family— the Sioux — who had 
in a similar manner followed the waterways from the Rocky 
Mountains, down the great Missouri and its branches, into the 
Mississippi valley. It was here the two great forces met and 
contended in a bloody strife for supremacy — the usual method 
pursued by civilized people. Caught between these fierce com- 
batants, it is possible the mound builders were crushed as be- 
tween the upper and nether mill stones. It is known that bitter- 
ness and hatred has always existed between the Algonquins 
and the Sioux. "The Sioux, civil and bold, the Algonquins 
(Sacs and Foxes) crafty and brave. " The former played the most 
conspicuous part in Indian history on Iowa territory. Especial- 
ly was this true in the south half of the state. The "lowas," 
though a tribe of the Sioux or Dakotas, were not on friendly 
terms with them ow^ng to the treacherous murder of their chief 
on the Iowa river. The "lowas" were at one time indentified 
with the Sioux, but later became a separate tribe and were in 
possession of the southern part of the state when it was penetrated 
by white men. 

They were brave and intelligent and had villages in many of 
he eastern counties; one at lowaville in the northeastern corner 
of Van Buren county, and still others in Davis, Wapello and 
Mahaska counties. 

But race prejudice, the bane of civilized as well as savage 



32 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

men, existed; and without apparent or sufficient reason, Black 
Hawk, the chief of the Sacs, with a large force completely surprised 
them a short distance from their village (lowaville) and practical- 
ly exterminated them. At the time the lowas were engaged in 
sports and, unaware of the near appearance of their enemies, 
were without weapons and had left the old men, women and 
children, at the camp unprotected. The Sacs fired one general 
volley upon these defenseless men, mowing them down in indis- 
criminate slaughter, and completing their destructive onslaught with 
tomahawk and scalping knife. The wives and children who had 
been spared were prisoners and their arms in the hands of the 
victors. The disaster was so appalling and complete that they 
never rallied their shattered forces. Their spirits were broken 
and they became helpless wanderers. This massacre took place 
in 1823. 

About twelve years thereafter, according to Judge A. R. Ful- 
ton, an Indian antiquarian, in his history of the Northwest, (page 
53) says; that Mahaska (White Cloud) a chief of the lowas, was 
treacherously slain on the banks of the West Nodaway, north of 
Villisca, somewhere in Washington township, and that after his 
death "all his surviving wives" went into mourning and poverty, 
according to the custom of the tribe, except one named Mis-so- 
rah tar-a-haw (female deer that bounds over the prairie) who re- 
fused to be comforted even to the end of her life, and so died in 
sorrow because "her lord was a great brave and was killed by a 
little dog." Mahaska county was named after this chief. 

Some two years before this incident, a tribe of the Algonquin 
family — the Pottawattamies — were removed from the shores of 
lake Michigan to the southwestern part of Iowa, of which Mont- 
gomery county is a part, and for fifteen years this was their reserva- 
tion, where they roamed at will, hunting the wild turkey, elk, deer, 
antelope and buffalo. Game fwas then plentiful. Places were 
pointed out near the timber, under the shade, where the prairie 




^"^n 




THE INDIANS 33 

sod was tramped out by the sharp hoofs of the bison — called 
buffalo wallows. The removal of this tribe occurred eighteen 
years before the government survey of Montgomery county. 

On the fifth day of June A. D. 1 846, the year Iowa was ad- 
mitted into the Union, the lands of the Pottawattamies were 
exchanged for a reservation thirty miles square in Kansas, although 
large numbers of them returned annually for ten consecutive years 
to visit the graves of the dead and to hunt — all kinds of game 
being still abundant. White men appropriated the hunting 
grounds and by menace and sometimes by force caused them 
to yield to their intimidating request to return no more. 

Their favorite camping places were near Arlington and Grant, 
on the Nodaway river, and at Coe's grove between Stennett and 
Elliott. ?vlr. Allison Becknell relates that he has seen five hun- 
dred in camp at the latter place, with their tents and ponies 
constituting a veritable Indian village. The young Indians would 
be engaged in athletic sports, sometimes being joined by white 
boys who considered it great sport to shoot with them at a mark 
wath bow and arrow. On one occasion an Indian came riding 
into camp with a deer thrown across his pony. Upon throwing 
it down the squaws immediately commenced to take off the 
skin and prepare the carcass for cooking. At the same time 
other squaws would be dragging up brush to make a fire— such 
work being beneath the dignity of the braves. 

These camps were maintained for months during the hunting 
season. The pathways, or trails, leading to them, made by the 
Indians and their ponies going in single file, marked the line of 
travel along divides and to river fords. These trails were some- 
times used as guides by the first white settlers until vehicles came 
into use. Mrs. Charles Stennett (whose father, A. G. Lowe, was 
the first County Judge of this county and made the first 
land entry at the government land office in Council Bluffs, locat- 
ing it three miles north-east of Villisca) though a girl of ten years 
of age, distinctly remembers seeing Indians singly and in bands. 



34 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

Their usual method of making calls at the settlers' cabins 
was to approach silently, making their presence known by stand- 
ing by a window or in the doorway until noticed. "Well do 
I remember," relates Mrs. Stennett, "that my sister and I were 
playing back of our little shanty when we were startled by some- 
one saying, ' How, How. ' We turned quickly and saw six large 
Indians dismounting from their ponies. We ran to tell mother, 
who was at that time sick in bed, they following us in and greet- 
ing her in a friendly way. They then began to investigate the 
cause of mother's illness. They would shake themselves and say 
' Ugh'ugh, ' asking in that manner if it was the ague. One of 
them looked around the poor little shanty that served for a house, 
while we were building a better one, and pointing to the open 
cracks between the logs said, 'Poor wigwam, squaw heap 
sick. ' We had at that time our first cook stove. One of them 
took off his hat and put it on the stove. Mother said, ' No! no! 
too much skoto (fire.) ' He snatched it off and laughed. " 

The name Pottawattamie means "makers of fire," an allusion 
that they were a free and independent people and had their own 
council fires. The government agency for this tribe was at a 
place on the east shore of the Missouri river in Mills county, 
called Traders' Point, afterwards known as St. Marys, with a 
sub-agency at Council Bluffs. Their reservation in south- 
westem Iowa embraced five million acres, and their agent, Davis 
Hardin, built a mill and opened up a farm and built a block 
house of logs above which he kept afloat the stars and stripes. 
Two companies of United States troops were quite sufficient to 
police the reservation containing three thousand Indians. Here 
dwelt one eighth as many as the historian Bancroft estimated 
were contained in the region now Jembraced in the states of 
Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin and 
Iowa, when America was discovered. Supposing these seven 
states were of the same size with the population equally dis- 
tributed, it would give Iowa thirty-five hundred and Montgomery 
county no more than thirty-five. 



THE INDIANS 35 

One hundred and eighty years later this whole region was 
still sparsely occupied. At "Traders' Point" lived Peter A. 
Sarpy, from St. Louis, who sold to the Indians ammunition, blankets 
and tobacco. He was very popular with them and his popu- 
larity increased when he chose an Indian maiden for his wife. 
He was small of stature, swarthy, pock-marked and of wiry 
frame. 

On one occasion, having fallen ill a long distance from med- 
ical assistance, his faithful wife, no larger than himself, carried 
him on her back for many weary days to where needed 
help could be obtained. The writer had an interview with him 
at St. Marys in the spring of 1857 and much interesting data 
was obtained. One of the counties in eastern Nebraska was 
named in his honor. He was an acquaintance and friend of the 
late P. B. Tracy, of Red Oak, who was for many years before 
the advent of the railroad, the agent of the Western Stage Com- 
pany. It is not improbable that the roving bands of the Sioux, 
whose favorite resorts were on the head waters of the Des 
Moines and Iowa rivers and around the northern lakes, 
penetrated as far south as Montgomery county, as evidenced by 
the fact that the Sioux placed their dead in trees or on 
scciffolds. The first settlers saw bodies thus placed near 
Stennett in a receptacle made of bark from trees and suspended 
from the limb of an oak tree twenty feet from the ground. The 
Algonquins buried their dead, and their graves are in several 
places in this county; notably on the east side of the West 
Nodaway, near Morton's mill. Indian skeletons have also been 
found in the railroad cut and at the old stone school-house near 
Stennett. 

The Sacs and Foxes lingered long in Iowa after white 
settlement, and fortunately many of their musical names came 
naturally to be adopted. Indian names abound in the state in 
connection with counties, towns and rivers. The names of 
twenty counties in the state are of Indian origin and hundreds 



36 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

of local names are derived from the Scime source; as an instance, 
the two principal rivers of this county, the Nodaway and Nish- 
nabotna, Nodaway meaning fordable, and Nishnabotna meaning 
not fordable or crossed with a canoe. 

These Indian names are our principal inheritance from the 
aborigines with which there is not associated a sense of greed 
or dishonor. J. Fenimore Coooper, in his romances, Long- 
fellow in his Hiawatha, and Helen Hunt Jackson in Ramona 
have done much to popularize them. The latter was, of all 
American writers, the greatest benefactor of the Red Man. 



CHAPTER V. 



THE PIONEERS. 

The conditions surrounding them, their habits, manner of liv- 
ing, language, food and clothing, habitations, modes of travel, 
social and business ciffairs, romances and realities, are in such 
marked contrast wath present day practices that one can hardly 
realize the vast changes that have taken place. It is a matter of 
absorbing interest to their descendants to consider the life of the 
pioneers fifty years ago and to take note of the conditions which 
prevailed during the earliest history of the county —conditions of 
life that vv^ill never again exist. The memory of these times will 
become less and less distinct and, unless made of record, much 
will be forgotten and lost. It is to be hoped that this history 
will, in a measure, perserve in permanent form that which might 
otherwise be forever lost. 

No partition walls separated the pioneers. Though widely 
different in habits, intellect and moral culture, they met and min- 
gled together. All class distinctions were done away with and 
party lines in church and state obliterated. Good fellowship, 
good cheer, contentment and good order characterized the com- 
munity. "Live and Let Live," was their motto. There was 
nothing to encourage a secular spirit. Free from the tyranny of 
greed, ambition and fashion, there was little to mar the sweet- 
ness and freshness of this free life of the prairies. Pioneer 
society was a true democracy, dominated by the spirit of brother- 
hood. And this condition was not without an adequate cause; 
it was not because the pioneers were of a higher and better type 
of manhood and womanhood or were possessed of superior 
moral qualities or intellectual attainments, but rather that their 



38 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

social nature craved society and companionship and so few and 
far between were their neighbors that they could afford to neg- 
lect none of them. Isolation and loneliness drew them together 
in sympathy and fellowship and nothing human was indifferent to 
them. There was no caste nor aristocracy to separate man and 
man. The dark background, as in a picture, of everyday hard- 
ships brought out conspicuously their amiable qualities and they 
deservedly command our unlimited admiration. Yet much of 
this was due to environment and if the people of this generation 
could possibly be similarly situated, society would doubtless ex- 
hibit like traits. Many of our modem luxuries and conveniences 
were utterly unknown and, being unknown, they could not be 
missed. Notwithstanding this, the pioneer had many bitter ex- 
periences which today would be considered almost intolerable. 
They were often in peril, cut off from communication with the 
outside world, unprotected and poorly sheltered. With coarse 
diet and rough habit, their lot was hard indeed. Yet out of 
these surroundings have emerged the strongest characters; men 
who would never have risen above mediocrity had not hardship 
and stern necessity awakened their slumbering powers. Men in 
our state, in our own county, have attained positions of influence 
from their training in this school of rigorous experience. Had 
there been no obstacle to overcome, no danger to brave, there 
would have been no self-reliance, courage or skill to combat and 
surmount the difficulties which everywhere beset the pioneer. 

They broke away from many of the traditions of the past. 
They marked the way of progress and beczune prophets and 
leaders. They built wisely and well, seeing clearly that the 
strength and support of free government lies in an educated peo- 
ple and strict observance of the law and of righteousness. Their 
first act, after providing a roof for a home, was invariably to erect 
a schoolhouse — a place serving the double purpose of instruction 
for the children and youth and for christian worship. They were 
moved by a common impulse, by the dictates of an enlightened 



THE PIONEERS 39 

self interest, to secure and maintain the best possible conditions, 
despite hardship and unfavorable environment. 

They were from New England, New York, Pennsylvania 
and from the Middle West. Whole neighborhoods came from 
Illinois and a smaller number from the South, but they were 
animated by a single purpose. It was highly creditable to their 
wisdom, forethought and sense of justice that their first voluntary 
associations were based on equity and "it is noteworthy that the 
evolution of our civil government was from claim regulation to 
written constitutions. " Scornful of social and class distinctions, 
rank, keen, indomitable and patriotic, with strong faith in the 
future of their country, religious and political differences were 
suppressed for the common good. Measured by present day 
standards, they were very much out of fashion, for there were 
no established rules for the cut of one's clothes or conduct in pub- 
lic assemblies, except that women invariably sat apart from the 
men. 

The first habitations were the covered wagons or the "prairie 
schooners," where the emigrant resided until a cabin could be 
built — parlor, kitchen, bedroom combined. Outside of the 
wagon cover was the great " withdrawing room. " The furniture 
was a camp kettle and a few tin dishes on the inside; and the 
implements of husbandry on the outside were a breaking plow, 
axe, ox-yoke and chains. The overturned furrows contrasted 
strangely in its black lines v^th the prevailing color. The sturdy 
arm of the pioneer was nerved for service, for here he saw a field 
for action, occasion for effort, and the means of victory. He 
planned wisely. He executed his plans in hope. Another 
white wagon from the winding lanes of farther east trundles anon 
the "divide" and comes to a halt. Another cabin is erected 
two or more miles away and the pioneer wakes up some morn- 
ing and finds a neighbor and rejoices. Another, and still an- 
other comes, and they in due time get together and establish a 
school on the hill. 



40 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

The early settlers of Iowa built solidly, which places her today 
in the front rank of all the states in educational facilities, and 
her progress has been exceptional and marked in all these inter- 
vening years. 

Justly has the saying of a distinguished citizen of the state be- 
come a classic: "Of all that is good Iowa affords the best. 
Have not her people the genuine western spirit of generosity and 
essential kindness; are they not broad-minded, tolerant, big of 
frame, big of mentality and big of heart, thoroughly and sincere- 
ly democratic?" This is the product — the outgrowth of the 
purpose and spirit of the pioneers who laid the foundation of our 
society so securely that it has grown like an oak tree, sending 
out great roots here and there, firmly buttressed below, broad 
branched above, able to withstand any shock of storm that may 
come against it — a type of our future national security. 

The ox team and the breaking plow were the two most 
potent factors of pioneer civilization. The plow was construct- 
ed as follows: The settler would remove the front wheels from 
his wagon and place them on a rudely constructed axle made 
from an oak sapling six or eight inches in diameter and about 
the length of an ordinary wagon axle. The plow, which had a 
very long moldboard and prodigious wooden beam, was partially 
suspended between the two wheels of the truck by an upright 
frame resting on the axle. A long lever extended from the front 
end of the plow beam, back to the upright frame, where it was 
secured by a wooden pin, and there was a series of auger holes 
in the upright frame, so that the depth of the furrow could be 
regulated by simply removing the adjusting pin from one of the 
holes and lifting, or bearing down on the lever. There has never 
been a plow manufactured since so suitable for turning under 
wild sod, scrub oak and hazel brush as this rudely constructed 
break-plow of our fathers. It could not rise out of the furrow 
when it struck a root; it could be set to any desired depth, and 
it would stay there. With two or three yoke of oxen attached, 





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Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Askey celebrated the 25th anniversary of their marriage and there were present 
a noted list of old-timers and their wives in Pilot Grove township, viz.: John Askey, Jacob 
Focht, J. A.Spicer, H. W. Mclntyre, John Pettit and others. 




OLD SETTLERS AT ANNUAL MEETING AT VILLISCA. 



THE PIONEERS 41 

it would cleave its way through almost anything. When it en- 
countered a running oak it didn't "pass by on the other side like 
the Levite," but it went through it and turned it under. 

The first permanent habitation of the early settler was built of 
round logs, the space between the logs being filled in with split 
sticks of wood called "chinks," then daubed over, both inside 
and out, with clay mortar. The floor was commonly made 
of puncheons or split logs with the smoothest side turned up- 
ward. 

The roof was made by gradually drawing in the top to the 
ridge pole and on cross pieces laying the clap-boards which, be- 
ing three or four feet in length, instead of being nailed were held 
in place by "weight" poles laid on them reaching the length of 
the cabin. The fireplace, about six feet in length, occupied 
one end of the single apartment and was situated in a projection 
like a modern bay window, — some of the logs being cut for 
that purpose. The chimney was built on the outside, of split 
sticks laid one on another like a child's cob-house; this was plas- 
tered inside and outside with clay mortar and was sometimes 
lined with stone a few feet above the hearth. The door space 
was made by cutting out the logs to make room for a door of con- 
venient size. The door itself was made of clap-boards secured 
by wooden pins to two cross-pieces. The settler would some- 
times take a log to some saw-mill and exchange for boards for 
this purpose. Robert Johnson hauled a log from the St. Clair 
place to near Lewis, Cass county, and made a door which was 
a departure from the ordinary method. 

The door would be hung on wooden hinges and the fasten- 
ing consisted of a wooden latch, catching on a wooden lock on 
the inside. A buckskin twang was attached to this latch and 
through a hole, made especially for that purpose, hung on the 
outside as a sign to the neighbor or stranger that he might enter 
and receive such hospitable treatment as the pioneer home af- 
forded. If the latch string was withdrawn it was also notice 



42 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

that for some reason or other, which the occupant felt under no 
obKgation to divulge, the stranger's presence was not desired. 
This was so unusual, however, that the customary manner of in- 
vitation from one settler to another was "the latch string always 
hangs out." The cabin usually consisted of one room which 
answered all purposes. Upon entering one would see suspended 
rings of dried pumpkin and a string of red peppers, while the 
ever present rifle and powder horn were in a convenient place 
ready for use. Sometimes a loom might be seen; the wife, or 
mother, busily engaged weaving cloth to be made into garments 
for family use. 

In well-to-do families the "loft" was in evidence, and if not 
used for the storage of "traps," took the place of the more modem 
spare room. This apartment was approached by a ladder se- 
cured to the wall. When prosperity overtook them a double 
log-cabin was erected or, as was more usually the case, another 
cabin was built beside the old one wath a space or hall between 
them, the entrance to the new structure being from the hall. 

The articles in the kitchen corresponded wath the room and 
were few and simple, a "dutch oven," a skillet, or long 
handled frying pan, an iron pot or kettle were the usual 
utensils. Later came a long iron crane so arranged that it could 
be swung out from the fireplace. Suspended from the crane 
was the "pot-hook" with which the kettle was carried to and 
from the fire at will. The style of cooking was as simple as the 
utensils used. Corn meal was the staple article of food and 
was made into "pone," "corn dodger" or "hoe cake." The 
first two were baked in the dutch oven which had first been 
placed on a bed of glowing coals. The lid having also been 
heated, the prepared dough was put in the oven and the whole 
covered by smoking embers and hot ashes. For the "hoe cake" 
there was sometimes added to the dough stewed pumpkin to 
give additional flavor. The dough was moulded into suitable 
form and flattened by placing it upon a board or stone. It was 



THE PIONEERS 43 

then placed at a suitable angle before the fire and when baked 
was ready for eating. Wild game and hominy were the other 
principal articles of food. The occupants of these rude homes 
were kind hearted, generous people, and it is among the pleas- 
antest recollections of the writer that he was privileged to enjoy 
their friendship and esteem, which was genuine, spontaneous — 
from the depths of the heart. 

The days of hardship and privation fled fast away. A few 
years sufficed to remove all semblance of pioneering. Wealth 
accumulated, comforts abounded, and now as a reward of indus- 
try and privation and years of patient waiting, from the raw 
material we see the finished but not perfect product. Today 
there are quiet, human, happy homes on hilltop and in our val- 
leys where once was wildness and apparent desolation. Happy 
childhood, youth with his ruddy cheek, manhood with his sin- 
ewy arm, and hoary-headed age rejoice alike in the gifts of 
a bounteous Providence poured out upon us with a liberal hand. 

For long years we were practically excluded from the outside 
world and a new and better day dawned when communication 
was established. The railroad gave impetus to every enterprise. 
New hopes were kindled, new enterprises undertaken, and new 
forms of vanity noticed, and what before were deemed luxuries 
soon became necessities. 

" Primitive man had no house, no tools, no government; not a 
breakfast laid up for tomorrow, no science, law, literature, cus- 
toms, habits, manners, or even language. Out of him was material 
nature, within him rude human nature." And now after ages 
he has become rich in material, intellectual and spiritual posses- 
sions. From lower to higher, from barbarism to civilization, from 
civilization to Christianity, is the upward flight ofg^man's ascent. 
Our pioneer had a house, but it was a rude log cabin of one room 
and a fireplace to cook his food. The primitive man had no 
tools. The pioneer had an ox-yoke and chain, a breaking plow 
and gun. Primitive man had no garments. The pioneer — well. 



44 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

the tariff on them was not a burdensome tax. The pioneer had 
the advantage of the primitive man in this: He called to his 
ciid Science to enable him to subsist; Law to secure and preserve 
his rights of person and of property; Literature yielding him ex- 
alted pleasures; Habits, Manners, and Language, enabling him 
to utilize, arrange, assort and communicate all that he received as 
an inheritance from the past. 

In all these things that distinguishes a civilized and enlightened 
man he could show quite an inventory of good qualities suitable 
for founding institutions of religion, education and charity, which 
has been faithfully done under his guiding hand. He has 
smoothed the pathway for us, and now after a lapse of years, we 
have better houses, better food, better tools; the sewing machine 
in the house and the self-binder in the field; better clothes; food 
provided for tomorrow; customs, habits, manners improved. 

And to all whom credit is due there are none entitled to more 
honor or esteem than the pioneer women of our country. 
What long days of loneliness and hunger for a sight of the old 
homestead with its restful shade to relieve the tired eyes from the 
monotony of the endless billowy landscape. "Men must work 
but women must wait, " and the waiting is often harder to endure 
than the working. We lift our hats and pay homage to the pi- 
oneer women who by their helpfulness and patience have done 
their full part in bringing on the comfort and civilization now pre- 
vailing everywhere in our country. 



CHAPTER VI 



OBSOLETE TOWNS OF THE COUNTY. 

Of the obsolete towns in the county the most conspicuous 
and important was Frankfort, situated on Section seventeen, 
Township seventy-two. North of range thirty-seven, near the 
geographical center, but not the center of population, and the 
county seat from 1 854 until 1 865. Here the county business 
was transacted and the law administered. 

Its local, business, educational and religious affairs, brought the 
town into no little prominence. There was a peculiar charm 
about the small cluster of houses huddled together on a summit 
showing against the distant horizon. At first sight in approach- 
ing them from any point of the compass they had the appear- 
ance of a citadel. The picture dissolved and the actual was a 
row of four buildings fronting the east, and on the west side was 
what the town plat designated as the public square, in which 
stood a flag pole. The building on the north was the court 
house, beyond which was a stretch of prairie extending to Pilot 
Grove. Jason Strait occupied the next building south — an in- 
complete two-story, double, log structure built by R. W. Rogers, 
ex-county treasurer. Then comes. a residence derisively called 
"Montgomery County Castle," a two story frame affair, beside 
which was a large building devoted to a general merchandise 
business conducted by the firm of "Strait & Stout," though curi- 
ously enough both were "strait" and both were "stout." There 
was another building of two floors facing northward toward the 
square. This was the only attempt at regularity in locating 
buildings, except those toward the south, on the west side of the 
street, where was Dr. Amasa Bond's residence, a treble log 



46 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

house sometimes used for a hotel, and the houses of Doctors 
Davis, Glover and Adair, respectively. 

John Shafer lived near the w^est line of the town and Judge J. 
R. Horton on his farm just outside the town limits. There were 
a [few smaller buildings such as a blacksmith shop, owned and 
operated by Noah Baer, stables, etc. 

The town itself, however, was then as conscious of its exist- 
ence as anything else that ever existed, or any town that now ex- 
ists. It has now glided off into the airy nothingness of all ma- 
rerial things; it sank out of sight on a limitless ocean of prairie 
when the fates decided that Red Oak should be the county seat. 
The wave that had carried Frankfort up receded and left that 
little village stranded. One by one the buildings were torn down 
or removed. Some of them converted into residences in Red 
Oak or remodeled into farmhouses. The first two buildings on 
the south side of Red Oak creek, on Grimes and Fourth streets, 
and a two story frame building on Coolbaugh street on the pres- 
ent location of j the Red Oak Wholesale Grocery establishment, 
and the court house that stood on the northwest corner) of the 
square, now occupied by the implement house of Stover Brothers 
(1 905) and which is now a part of their stables, were all removed 
from Frankfort. The house on Grimes street, occupied by the 
writer for fourteen years, was a part of the Strait & Stout build- 
ing at Frankfort and was purchased at $2.75 per running foot. 
Twenty eight feet were thus sold and separated from the re- 
maining portion by sawing it in two, commencing at the ridge 
pole. A part of "Montgomery County Castle" was removed to 
the farm of the late Edward Hall. The original owners of the 
land upon which Frankfort was located were Samuel Baer, Dr. 
Enos Lowe, a surgeon in the regular army and then stationed at 
Fort Omaha; and Isaac Bolt. The last building erected was an 
addition by Mr. Strait of a large two story front to his log house. 
One room was set apart for a harness shop where the late O. P. 
Whittier learned his trade, afterwards carrying on the same busi- 



OBSOLETE TOWNS OF THE COUNTY 47 

ness in Red Oak in the building now occupied by David Artz* 
drug store. 

Mr. Baer was the only resident owner and occupied a^hewn 
log house — built in 1855 by one John Bumsides, who also dug 
the first well in Frankfort. Owing to the scarcity of lumber for 
a windlass and the want of a chain or rope, this well was de- 
scended and ascended by means of a ladder. Burnsides, who 
had the reputation for doing things original and uncommon, con- 
sidered it no hardship to grind his com in a coffee mill to obtaiii 
meal for his bread. One of his accomplishments was said to 
consist of being able to manufacture a very good passable article 
of money. Isaac Binns was one day complaining of the want of 
money, and knowing Bumsides* reputation, asked him jokingly 
"if he would not make him some." Bumsides taking him aside 
replied, "Ike, I'll make you some if you really want me to." For- 
tunately this species of the genus homo of a type generally found 
hanging on the rough and ragged edges of border life soon sought 
other fields to display his peculiar talents. 

Previous to the winter of 1861 and 1862 there was very 
little money in the country and a very limited market for things 
produced except in fumishing an immense emigration that passed 
through after the Pike's Peak gold fever broke out in 1 859, fol- 
lowed by an exodus to Oregon, Idaho and Washington. Led 
by visions of gold and driven by the dread of draft, many turned 
their footsteps toward the Rocky Mountains and the farther west. 
Some of our people joined the procession, leaving their farms to 
grow up in weeds. At this time there was a ready market for 
everything eatable, such as bacon, butter and eggs, but there was 
a limited supply which was soon exhausted. The demand for 
supplies for the army was the first general market the farmers 
ever had for hogs. They were mostly produced along the valley 
of the Nodaway where they had developed good frames from 
free ranging and living on acorns and hazel nuts. A few weeks 
feeding them on corn fitted them for market. 



48 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

The buyers freely paid ten cents per pound. This was the 
golden era for the farmers who had a surplus. This stock was 
driven to Council Bluffs, and Frankfort was but a way-station 
en route to market, having no financial interest in the movement 
of stock. The public square was an enclosure used nights to 
prevent the swine from straying away, and on stormy nights their 
shrill notes of discomfort rang out on the midnight air. The 
streets were not illumined at night, excepting at times when the 
flickering rays of a dipped or moulded tallow candle shone 
through a perforated tin lantern. This was used before electri- 
city or even kerosene for lighting purposes came into general use. 
The ware of the telephone lay coiled up in the brain of the in- 
ventor and the electrical current was not used as a means of 
conveying intelligence — at least not to the people of Frankfort. 
The only method of communication with the outside world was 
through the United States Mail Service, daily but irregular, con- 
veyed from eastern Iowa by "hack" and "buckboard," the 
greater part of the way by the latter, being drawn by one 
horse. On one occasion there was an attempt to deprive the 
tovm of this service. A bridge had been built across the Tarkio, 
near the present town of Stanton, shortening the route from Sci- 
ola to Red Oak and was used for a short time. Some enterpris- 
ing citizen of Frankfort sawed off the stringers or supports of that 
bridge, wrecking it, and that route was abandond as impracticable. 
The old route was resumed and continued until the advent of 
the railroad when there was no further need of it. The indus- 
tries of the place had already been diverted so that the thump 
of the saddler's hammer, the ring of the blacksmith's anvil, and 
the monotonous ratde of the loom were heard no longer. 

There was but little rivalry. All told, society could not mus- 
ter four hundred souls and if any imagined themselves a part of 
the "elite" that fact was carefully kept secret, although once in a 
while it would break out in a mild form. Mary, a domestic in 
Mr. Stout's family, was emphatic in her declaration that "all them 



Jfe^ 


1 


i^^^H 


ff^ 




M '^ 




S. W. WHITE— Came to county in 1S55. His wife, 
Sarah White, has been a resident of Iowa 
since 1855. 



AARON PATTERSON— In his 79th year. Came 
to Douglas township in 1854. Mrs. J. C. 
Patterson on the right, daughter of A. Patter- 
son, first girl born in Douglas township. 





JACOB STOVER— Was born in Pennsylvania, 
1826. Has resided in the vicinity of Red Oak 
since 1864. On the right is his wife, formerly 
Miss Sarah A. Tucker, a native of Iowa. 



Z. M. P. SHANK AND WIFE, Deceased— He 
settled on what is now a part of Red Oak in 
1856. 





JASON STRAIT, Deceased— Keeper of the first 
and only hotel in Frankfort. 



VVM.DUNN.Sr., Deceased— Born in Ohio, 1809, 
came to county 1855. As U. S. Surveyor, 
he sectionized five townships in this, three 
in Page and two in Taylor county, 1851. 





JAMES R. HORTON, Deceased— The second 
County Judge. 



SAMUEL C. DUNN, Deceased— Came to county 
1852. The first Clerk of District Court. 



OBSOLETE TOWNS OF THE COUNTY 49 

what's got manners boards at Stout's." There was a general 
desire to promote sociability. Dancing parties and sleigh rides 
were of frequent occurrence. Well do I remember a young gen- 
tleman, now a staid Presbyterian and lawyer of renown, making 
his first attempt at dancing. He was somewhat longer north and 
south than east and west and his dancing, if by any stretch 
of the imagination it could be called that,- -reminded one of an 
old fashioned Kentucky flax break in action. 

Sleigh rides were usually taken with ox teams — time not be- 
ing the essence of the contract with the driver. Upon one oc- 
casion a party of middle-aged people called on Silas Smith and 
family, then living on a farm two miles east of Red Oak, now 
owned by Mr. J. V. Pringle, the round trip taking well into 
the morning hours. 

The lyceum was the principal entertainment in which nearly 
every adult took an interest. One evening in each week, in the 
winter months, was devoted to the reading of the "Budget," a 
weekly paper prepared by the ladies. 

Editorials of fair ability were often read and the current hap- 
penings, social and otherwise, commented on by the different 
contributors. 

The women would bring their knitting and fancy work while 
the men engaged in a discussion of some subject previously selected. 

The whole social, religious, literary zuid political fields were 
levied upon to furnish suitable material for this purpose. 

Isolated from the great world and dependent on our own re- 
sources for everything necessary to our existence and enjoyment, 
we followed our own lead and looked not elsewhere for patterns. 

We instituted our own modes and used our own means. 
Originality marked all of our society and social proceedings; not 
always the best, but good enough under the circumstances, and 
remembered as affording greater enjoyment than modem social 
functions. Duties to ourselves and others were the animating 
motives. Mrs. Cornelia A. Packard, a woman of education 



50 HISTORY OF MONTOGMERY COUNTY 

and refinement, contributed not a little in transfiguring by word 
and pen these rugged and unclassified elements in a period of 
romantic realities in the history of Frankfort. She was not alone 
in attempting to make the most of existing conditions and in 
contributing to the social union so desirable and necessary. The 
prominent families at that time were the Bonds, Hortons, Straits, 
Stouts, Shafers, Sperrys and others, all offering something to re- 
lieve the prevailing prosy social conditions. 

The school house was built in 1 859 and was depended upon 
for all public gatherings including church services, political meet- 
ings and lyceums and was also used for a court room, as it was 
the largest room in town. Here took place the most memorable 
political debates that were ever held in this county, beginning 
with the joint discussion between Samuel J. Kirkwood and Gen. 
A. C. Dodge, the opposing candidates for governor in I860; 
afterwards came Gen. S. R. Curtis and C. C. Cole, the oppos- 
ing candidates for congress. John A. Kasson was there at two 
different times, once in debate with his opponent for congress, 
Henry, father of Judge Henry, and another year when F. W. 
Palmer was assisting him canvass through the district, and who 
also made a speech. Upon these occasions the entire voting 
population of the county would be present. Here also assem- 
bled from time to time, the officers of the district court and 
members of the bar from adjoining counties whose custom it was 
to accompany the judge from one county seat to another attend- 
ing to or looking for business in their line. 

Many a legal battle has been fought in that little school house 
out on the prairie. Among the attorneys were J. W. Russell 
and James M. Dews, of Glenwood, a democrat who was once 
a contestant for the position of district judge with E. H. Sears; 
Col. J. R. Morledge, Bowen, subsequently a senator in Colo- 
rado, and Napoleon Bonaparte Moore, of Clarinda, Robert 
Percival, L. Lengenfelter, Cornish, Mitchell, Rector and J. A. 
Harvey, of Sidney. Mr. Harvey was at one time registrar 



OBSOLETE TOWNS OF THE COUNTY 51 

of the state land office and was a noted temperance advocate. 
Members of the bar from Council Bluffs frequently were in 
attendance. The home attorneys were: W. L. Boydson, the 
late Allen Beeson, of Plattsmouth, Nebraska, D. Ellison, now 
of Kansas City, the late A. P. Morehouse, governor of Mis- 
souri, and Martin Van Buren Bennett, subsequently the editor of 
the "Copperhead," a paper published in Ottumwa, Iowa. The 
foregoing included a number of men able, honorable and influ- 
ential in their several communities — a credit to the learned 
profession of the law. 

This old school house was also the floral and agricultural 
hall of our county fair. Here were exhibited specimens of 
grasses, grains, vegetables, sorghum, syrup, jams and jellies made 
from crab apples and wild plums, pickles and soft soap. It could 
also boast of the first preliminary meeting of the Masonic lodge 
and of the first teachers' institute of the county. 

Giant cottonwoods now stand silent sentinels, guarding the 
spot where once stood the village of Frankfort. 

The memory of men and events of that time, for the most 
part, might be likened to a vessel disappearing at sea, or a fair 
landscape fading from view, and yet there are moments when 
one is living again the open, free-breathing life of the prairie; 
when the mind wanders back, and through the distance, one 
seems to hear the merry song of the pioneer mingled with the 
laughter of the children. 

Of the actors that crossed the stage in that far-off day, but 
few still live in the county of their early choice and some have 
wandered afar. Many of them lie sleeping in the old cemetery 
below the town, having crossed the river, and are resting in the 
shade of the trees, waiting for their comrades. 

All have passed the hey-day of life, yet the few remaining 
will ever remember the little hamlet on the plateau of Frankfort 
— its joys — its sorrows — "its sighs — its tears — its hope of future 
years. " 



52 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

FLORA. 

If Flora had been thought of a little sooner it would probably 
have proven one of those successful paper town speculations such 
as the west was full of prior to 1857, and which were so effect- 
ually flattened out by the panic of that year. As the Flora 
idea did not develop, however, until 1 859, nobody was hurt. In 
consequence of the financial panic of 1857 no one had any 
money for any uncertain ventures or speculations. Especially 
had eastern men learned a lesson regarding investments in west- 
em town lots, or lands either, for which there was no market at 
any price, and into which most of their surplus money had been 
scattered. The town of Flora, I think, never got farther than to 
get platted on paper — the plans drawn up, but the survey of the 
land into lots was never made, nor was the plat recorded. 
Therefore there was never any assessment of town lots in the 
town nor lots sold. In the hurry of pioneer life these were con- 
sidered insignificant details, which for the time being, might be 
omitted. This would in no way interfere with the stock 
exchange, the necessary accompaniment of all such towns in their 
infancy. Judge J. R. Horton has preserved as a relic an orig- 
inal certificate of stock. On the left is the impress of the 
beautiful seal, "Flora Town Co., Montgomery County, Iowa," 
and 1 00 shares on the upper right hand corner, 350 acres. No. 
4, dated April 11,1 859, signed by the secretary and president. 
Certificate entitles the holder to an equal division of the lots and 
property of the town of Flora, subject to an equal division of the 
expenses, liabilities, etc. Flora was to be no small, second rate 
affair crowded into the narrow limits of 1 60 acres like Red Oak, 
with seven by nine lots and narrow streets. But it was thought 
that three hundred and fifty acres would be sufficient for a 
nucleus, a modest beginning, and as the town grew the streets 
could be indefinitely lengthened. 

The first preliminary survey of the railroad was made about 
1857. This survey went through Red Oak, but somewhat 



OBSOLETE TOWNS OF THE COUNTY 53 

north of the final location, and missed Frankfort entirely by some 
two or three miles. Flora was located on this survey and south 
of the head of Red Oak creek. The effect of this preliminary 
survey was to discourage or suspend any improvements in Frank- 
fort, though at the same time the people of Frankfort never for 
a moment entertained the thought of adopting Red Oak as their 
town. On the contrary, there was a certain degree of hostility 
or feeling of opposition existing between the two towns. 

During 1 859, Rev. D. N. Smith, (who was identified with a 
great many prospective great towns and business centers, such as 
Orepolis, Neb., Louden, Mills county, etc.,) on one of his trips 
through the country, stopped with us at Frankfort and opened 
up to our admiring gaze a beautifully drawn-up plat of the town 
of Flora, all drawn off on a large scale, not on ordinary paper, 
such as our eyes had been accustomed to, but on fine tracing 
linen. This hit us exactly as we wanted it. Here we had been 
having the blues because we could not be on the railroad, and 
to think of such a thing as going over to Red Oak was as the 
thought of going over to the Philistines; in fact, was so bad that 
such an idea had not up to this time occurred to anybody. 
Therefore, when we gazed on that beautiful parchment the way 
of our deliverance seemed to open up clearly and with 
distinctness. 

The year 1 859 was full of quietness, something like the lull 
before a storm, which came with the exciting presidential contest 
the following year, followed by the war. We at Frankfort, 
therefore, had few enough matters to take our attention. And 
so we had a good time building up the town of Flora in our 
minds and imagining what we should make of it. Most of 
Frankfort was much "enthused." J. B. Packard had a lot of 
ditching done and considerable other work to make a good 
crossing over the "Big Slough" for the road running east from 
Flora. I remember our Ike Binns, who was clerking in Stout's 
store at the time, greeting some friend who came in after quite an 



54 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

absence from home, saying, "How are you John? Got back 
have you ? Say ! we have a new town down here, Flora. The 
time will come when we will run together, and be one city, 
— Flora — Frankfort and Red Oak." This is about all there is 
to be said about Flora. The war came and Flora was forgotten. 



ARLINGTON. 

The east side of the county has its quota of obsolete towns, 
being represented principally in "Arlington." 

The original idea of devoting a few acres to a townsite at 
this point, and platting a few blocks as a nucleus for future en- 
largement in case it became necessary, was not a bad one at the 
time it was done, which was along in 1857. It was evident 
that a good town would be built up somewhere along the Noda- 
way valley. As the heaviest timbered lands of the county were 
along the Nodaway river, this portion of the county was thought 
to be the most desirable by the early settlers, who sought as 
eagerly for timber land as they did for farming land, and locat- 
ed their farms along the length of the valley adjoining the timber. 
Locations outside of such were looked upon as second choice, 
and between the small nucleus started at Frankfort (which was 
one of the second choice locations) and the Nodaway valley at 
Arlington, not an improvement of any kind had been started. 
Arlington, however, was doomed to future obscurity when the 
railroad, instead of making a straight line through the county 
east and west, followed the east Nodaway valley down, making 
a bend to the south that brought them into the west Nodaway 
valley at Villisca. When the railroad surveys were being made, 
a line was tried via Arlington to Red Oak, but the line via 
Villisca was adopted. 

If I could give an inside history of this survey I think it could 
be conclusively shown that the direct route of the C, B. & Q. 
railroad through Arlington was very much shorter and less 



OBSOLETE TOWNS OF THE COUNTY 55 

expensive to build than the route taken, and had there been no 
such company as the Burlington Town Lot Co., composed of a 
few of the stockholders of the C, B. & Q., who were on the 
ground and influential in its location to promote personal and 
selfish ends, the road would have been located there. To many 
it remains a mystery that the survey made by the late Col. A. 
Hebard was adopted in the main through the entire state by 
the company, and that the only essential variation was when 
they made the detour to nearly the southern line of the county 
and then back to the old line again. Possibly the company 
wished to run through their own lands, as Stanton was central 
to twenty-five sections, or so, of unsold land at that time. 

If the choice had fallen on the Arlington survey, our "tale of 
woe " would have applied to Villisca, and Arlington would have 
been the flourishing town of the Nodaway valley. Fortunately 
no extensive amounts of money were ever invested in buildings 
and improvements in the town; no modern "boom" ever inaug- 
urated for the purpose of getting people to part with their money 
for the sake of securing a foothold in the town before the lots 
got to be too valuable for the people to reach. The proprietors 
did not have modern enterprise enough to build brick blocks or 
opera houses on some lots to make the others more valuable — 
probably did not think of it. On the contrary, there were only 
three log houses ever built, and afterwards a frame school house. 

The stakes marking the boundaries of lots and blocks of a town 
plat, according to legendary history, were seen by the early 
settlers in Grant township, near Ramp creek, south of Red Oak. 
When and by whom it was so marked is not known and it was 
never given a name. 

One Herman Harlow laid out a town in Jackson township in 
April, 1855, named Rossville in honor of a family of that name 
living in its vicinity. Encumbering the county record seems to 
be its principal history. These villages have been turned into 
fruitful fields excepting the dead town of Bristol, near the Chris - 
tian church in Washington township. Dead in a double sense, 
as the site is now used for a cemetery. 



CHAPTER VI 



WAR TIME ORGANIZATIONS AND INCIDENTS. 

The Union League of America and the Knights of the Gold- 
en Circle were organizations throughout the North, formed 
about two years after the breaking out of the war. The first 
society represented the adherents of the Union and the latter 
apologists for and abettors of secession. The former insisted 
on a continuance of war, regardless of sacrifice until the Rebel- 
lion was suppressed, while the cry of the latter was for peace at 
any price. Suspicion and enmity were engendered everywhere. 
Old time friendships were broken and neighbors were at bitter 
variance. Epithets were constantly bandied back and forth be- 
tween the opposing factions, such as "Abolitionist" and "Black 
Republican" on one side and "Rebel" and "Copperhead" on 
the other, a practice which often led to personal encounters more 
or less serious. This was only a natural consequence of a civil 
war, but the tolerance in the North permitted a freedom to 
sympathizers with the enemy which would have been promptly 
and arbitrarily crushed in the South, and this was not without its 
serious effect on the soldiers. It was only natural that men at 
the front should be greatly depressed and discouraged by the 
activity of traitors at home, and the loyal people of the North 
naturally felt that steps must be taken to nullify the efforts of south- 
ern sympathizers. They felt that the sons, husbands and fathers 
who were loyally at the front, fighting to preserve the Union and 
honor of the flag, would be sustained by knowledge of the fact 
that in the country they left behind the majority of the people 
were in strong sympathy with the cause they were giving their 
lives to promote, and that a substantial expression of such sym- 






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WAR TIME ORGANIZATIONS AND INCIDENTS 57 

pathy would enable the soldiers to endure the hardship that fol- 
lows in the wake of war. One would naturally think that in a 
pioneer county like Montgomery, far removed from the seat of 
warfare, and where slavery had been universally despised, there 
would have been little chance for any of the disloyalty which 
occurred in the border states or in some of the larger cities. 
Historic fact, however, testifies to the contrary. There is even 
the best reason to believe that a chapter of the Knights of the 
Golden Circle was organized at a meeting held within the bor- 
ders of the county on the 1 4th of March, 1 863. This meeting 
was ostensibly a neighborhood picnic, but it was noticed that 
only people who were suspected of disloyalty to the Union were 
present and a set of resolutions afterwards published in a paper 
called the Council Bluffs Bugle showed plciinly the sentiment of 
this gathering. This paper had been founded by southern sym- 
pathizers with the sole purpose of stirring up trouble in western 
Iowa, and it showed the remarkable tolerance of the northern 
people at that time that such a sheet was allowed to exist. The 
resolutions are only worthy of inclusion in this book as a matter 
of historic record, to show the forces that battled against the 
Union in one of the most loyal counties of the North. 

" Editors of the Bugle: — At a mass meeting held by the dem- 
ocracy of Montgomery and Page counties, at Ross Grove, Jack- 
son township, Montgomery county, Iowa, on the 1 4th inst., on 
motion Louis Wilder was elected president and H. Descombes 
secretary, and R. E. Finley assistant. On motion the president 
was instructed to appoint a committee to draft resolutions. 

"Committee on resolutions: H. Murray, W. C. Means, L. 
Reeves, W. Moore, and C. Their, retired and after a short ab- 
sence, returned and submitted the following resolutions, which, 
after being read, were unanimously adopted: 

" 1 St. Resolved, That it is to the people we must look for a 
restoration of the Union, and the blessing of peace, and to this 
end we shall direct our earnest and honest efforts, and hence we 



58 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

are in favor of the assembling of a national convention of all the 
states at the earliest practical period to so adjust our national 
difficulties that the states may hereafter live in harmony with 
each other, being secured in their rights, guaranteed by the 
constitution. 

" 2nd. Resolved, That we earnestly recommend a cessation of 
hostilities for such a period as may be necessary to allow the 
people of the North and South to express, through a national 
convention, their wishes for peace and maintainance of the Union 
as it was, or a reconstruction with the rights of all states unim- 
paired. 

"3rd. Resolved, That the general government has no power 
under the constitution to tax the people of the state of Iowa for 
the purpose of raising money with which to buy slaves of the 
southern states, and we now declare in advance that all debts 
contracted or bonds which may be issued for the purpose of pay- 
ing for any such slaves we hold to be utterly void for want of 
authority to issue the same, and the state of Iowa will not con- 
sent that her people be taxed for any such purpose. 

" 4th. Resolved, That we condemn the Emancipation Procla- 
mation of the president, and that we will not fight to free the 
negro. 

" 5 th. Resolved, That we are opposed to being ruled any long- 
er by a despot, and we call on all loyal citizens to throw off the 
yoke of despotism and restore peace and harmony once more to 
this troubled land. 

" 6th. Resolved, That the abolitionists must be defeated at the 
ballot box or the constitution will be utterty destroyed by them. 

" 7th. Resolved, That we will assist the citizens of this state to 
rid the state of contrabands. 

" 8th. Resolved, That we will not permit any more unlawful 
arrests, which are contrary to civil law; but our citizens must be 
tried by the civil laws of this state. 

"9th. Resolved, That we approve of the course of Gov. Sey- 



WAR TIME ORGANIZATIONS AND INCIDENTS 59 

mour of New York, and the Hon. C. L. Vallandingham of Ohio.* 
"The meeting was ably and eloquently addressed by W. C. 
Means in his usual good old patriotic style, denouncing all ene- 
mies to the constitution. After speaking was over, there were 
carried forth from the wagons, boxes, buckets and baskets heap- 
ed up with cakes, pies, bread, chicken, ham, in fact everything 
you could mention, and on the desks in the house, on logs and 
on the wagons, (there not being room in the house for all) we 
partook of one of the most sumptuous dinners ever gotten up on 
the westem slope. 

" On motion it was agreed that the proceedings of the meeting 
be published in the Council Bluffs Bugle and Burlington Argus. 

H. Descombe, ) o , Louis Wilder, Prest." 

R. E. Finley, j 

The foregoing resolutions were copied by the Clarinda Her- 
ald, which was one of the loyal forces in southwestern Iowa at 
that time. It will be remembered that there was no paper pub- 
lished within Montgomery county until four or five years later. 
As a matter of interest, to show the Union sentiment concern- 
ing the claims of the northern copperheads, we quote at length 
the reply written by the editor of the Herald. All of this now 
seems like very ancient history and to an enlightened citizen of 
the present day it would hardly seem to be worth while to 
reply to such apparent falsehoods as were set forth in the resolu- 
tions. It was, however, all to the point in 1 863. The Her- 
ald's comments were as follows: 

"It is natural for men to find fault with that which they dis- 
like, and to pass over in silence what they have a sympathy 
for. The above resolutions demonstrate the above logic. There 
is not a syllable in the whole batch that condemns the rebellion, 
but on the other hand, every great measure that the constituted 

* Vallandingham said to the South: "if you can hold out this year, the peace party 
in the North will sweep the Lincoln dynasty out of political existence." 



60 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

authorities of the government have adopted in its struggle with 
rebellion, is denounced in unmeasured terms. 

"The first resolution says vs^e must look to the people for a res- 
toration of the Union and peace, etc. A greater falsehood w^as 
never uttered. Are the people of the loyal states to sue for 
peace at the hands of men in arms against the very life of the 
govemment? Are we to implore peace of the assassin who is 
demolishing the inheritance of our fathers? When the leaders 
of the rebellion see proper to ask for a convention it will be time 
for us to accept, but all they have to do now is to lay down 
their arms and come back into the old Union. 

"The second resolution asks for a cessation of hostilities, till the 
people of the two sections can exchange views, etc. This prop- 
osition is the very conception of treason itself. It contemplates 
a withdrawal of our armies from the states in rebellion, and our 
fleets from the blockaded forts of the South. During the interim 
the South can ship their cotton and supply themselves with mili- 
tary and other stores, and when that is accomplished they will 
be in a situation to carry on the war a few years longer. This 
is just what the rebels would like. Strange that men should 
loan themselves to a scheme concocted by the traitors of the 
North. 

"The two next resolutions condemn appropriating moneys to 
assist states in removing the cause of rebellion, and the procla- 
mation of the president. The advocates of slavery used to say 
that they would pay any amount to buy the slaves, but when an 
opportunity is afforded to exhibit a little philanthropy it is found 
wanting. The removal of slavery in Missouri, which that 
appropriation will bring about, not only secures that state to the 
Union, but it forever secures us from the violent commotions 
that are liable to spring up along the border. 

"The proclamation troubles these copperhead gentlemen. 
There is not an intelligent man in America but knows that slav- 
ery is the cause of the war. It is an axiom that needs no dem- 



WAR TIME ORGANIZATIONS AND INCIDENTS 61 

onstration, that but for it there would have been no rebellion. 
No other cause, not all the errors in our jurisprudence combined 
could ever manufacture a traitor to so benign a government as 
ours. Slavery drew the sword for universal empire on this con- 
tinent. Its imperial spirit would brook no control. Then let it 
receive the full measure of the antagonism, not only of the laws 
of war, but of the moral forces that it has arrayed against it. 
' He that taketh the sword shall perish by the sword. ' A sys- 
tem that makes traitors to such a government as ours ought not 
to live an hour longer than it requires the military power to reach 
it. If ever the God of nations pointed in a direction for a 
people to save themselves, it was when He put it in the heart of 
His servant to promulgate that great edict against rebellion. 

"The fifth resolution caps the climax: 'We are opposed to 
being ruled any longer by a despot. ' Is it all that these men 
are thinking of to place the Buchansms of the North in the presi- 
dential chair, that treason may nestle in the very corridors of the 
capitol? Some men have a party, but no government to defend. 
If we are not mistaken, the leaders in this copperhead convention 
sustained a man for president who is now leading an army 
against the government of which he was so lately vice president. 
Breckenridge democrats' and copperheads' appeal to ' loyal citi- 
zens ' is a huge joke, and is worthy of the source from whence 
it came." 

As it was an unseasonable time to hold a picnic, it is plain 
enough that this was only a name given to the gathering with a 
view of covering up its real object. Many strangers were pres- 
ent from different parts of the country, and at the time the general 
impression prevailed that a branch of the Knights of the Golden 
Circle had been organized. Many other suspicious secret meet- 
ings were held, but it was not generally known how often or 
who were the attendants. Many of the individual members 
were no doubt suspected, but the sentiment in the county was 
such that it did not permit the supporters of secession to operate 



62 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

very openly. These meetings, however, had a good effect in 
stirring up the sentiment for the Union. It was determined to 
check the influence of those who stood in the way of a vigorous 
prosecution of the war, and to uphold the president and the 
soldiers at the front. It was the principal topic of conversation 
in every group of men and women, whether at market, in church 
or in social gatherings. The ministers did not mince matters in 
their sermons, and they fought the adherents of secession with 
all the vim they could muster. Union meetings were held in 
almost every neighborhood in the county and leagues were 
formed at Red Oak, at Grant in Douglas township, and at 
Sciola in Washington township. The object of the league was 
set forth in the following introductory section of its constitution: 

"The object of this league shall be to preserve liberty and the 
Union of the United States of America; to maintain the consti- 
tution thereof and of the state of Iowa and the supremacy of the 
laws; to put down the enemies of the government and thwart 
the designs of traitors and disloyahsts; and to protect, strengthen 
and defend all loyal men without regard to sect, condition or 
party." 

Herewith is given a facsimile copy of the commission giving 
authority to the author of this book, who was fortunate enough 
to be appointed a league organizer, and also a report for the 
month of October, 1 864, which is typical and the only original 
copy obtainable. 

Happily for all, these mutual recriminations and misunder- 
standings belong to the past, never to be revived except in history 
which has to do with facts, and now, after the lapse of forty 
years, we may well rejoice that the tremendous issues that evolved 
them have been forever setded and there exists nowhere in this 
broad land chattel slavery, but a united country dedicated to 
freedom. The people of the United States, instead of being in 
a certain sense two units, have been welded into one compact 



WAR TIME ORGANIZATIONS AND INCIDENTS 63 

form illustrated by a contemporaneous orator, from a piece of 
lead found on the battle field of Shiloh: 

"Two bullets had met in midair and the force of their meeting 
had fused them into a star-shaped disk. It was only a leaden 
star, but my imagination made of it a star of glory, portending a 
new birth of peace on earth, good will to men. For one of the 
bullets was of the North, the other of the South. I seemed to 
see them hurtling through the air on a blind mission of destruc- 
tion, hissing the hate they had no words to utter. I saw them 
approach— I beheld hatred changed to recognition, recognition 
to love, and then like kindred spirits seeking brotherhood and 
rest, they melted in an eternal union, riveted by that kiss." 



CHAPTER VIII. 



RAILROADS. 

The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad is the only one 
within the borders of Montgomery county at this date — 1905. 
The main line of this road traverses the county from east to 
west, while branches extend north and south from Red Oak 
and south from Villisca. The main line of the road reached 
the borders of the county in 1 869 and in the latter part of that 
year the first trains ran into Red Oak. At the same time that the 
main line was projected, the Nebraska City branch was also 
planned and it was this fact that attached the word "Junction" 
to the city of Red Oak for many years until it was finally 
dropped by popular vote. It was first planned to build this 
branch by way of Sidney, but finally a more direct route by 
way of Hamburg was chosen, and the road was opened for 
traffic in July, 1870. 

Railroad building progressed pretty rapidly in those days, 
when little heavy grading was done, and cheap, quickly built 
wooden bridges prevailed. The Nodaway valley branch, which 
connects Villisca and Clarinda in Page county, was completed 
in September, 1 872. There is only a little over two miles of 
this road in Montgomery county. The north branch, extending 
from Red Oak to Griswold, was built by the railroad company 
to head off a local project which contemplated building a reiil- 
road from Atlantic through Red Oak to St. Louis. A tax for 
this purpose had been voted by a large majority of the city of 
Red Oak and the various townships through which the pro- 
posed road was to be run. As the Wabash and one or two 
other railroads were behind this project, it would undoubtedly 



RAILROADS 65 

have succeeded had it not been for the prompt action of the Bur- 
lington in building the north branch and the Rock Island in 
meeting the same at Griswold. The outcome of this was un- 
doubtedly an unfortunate thing for the city of Red Oak and for 
the county generally, as it precluded many advantages that 
vv^ould have come from a competing railroad. 

It may be of interest in connection vv^ith the history of Mont- 
gomery County to outline a few of the difficulties which the pio- 
neer railroad builders met, especially in the south-western sec- 
tion of the state. 

The railroads in Iowa have been built almost wholly by pri- 
vate enterprise with the expectation of a reasonable return for 
the money invested. With the object of opening up a new ter- 
ritory for settlement, the United States Government granted sub- 
sidies of the public land. These lands, afterwards sold to set- 
tlers at greatly enhanced values, were in many instances worth 
more than the cost of construction of the railroad. The Bur- 
lington and Missouri River Railroad, once a part of the Chi- 
cago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad system, was granted a lib- 
eral subsidy to aid in its construction. A certain number of sec- 
tions were given upon the completion of each twenty miles of 
road. Of lands in Montgomery County, the Burlington System 
originally received about ninety-five thousand acres, or about 
one-third of the area of the country. 

Notwithstanding the assistance given, it became a serious 
problem whether it would pay the projectors to extend the road 
further than Chillicothe, a little to the west of Ottumwa. C. E. 
Perkins of Burlington, former president of the Burlington Sys- 
tem, gives an account of the pioneer railroad builders in Iowa. 
In an article in the Des Moines Capital in 1 904 he said : 

"The general impression is that railroads have been great 
money-makers, without much, if any risk, and that their rates are 
too high and their taxes too low. The truth is, men who bought 
land west of the Des Moines river forty years ago have made 



66 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

more profit than men who put their money into railroads. 

I had made my first journey across Iowa in the winter of 
1 862, under the auspices of Col. E. F. Hooker, going by stage 
from Eddyville, via Des Moines, to Council Bluffs, passing 
through what seemed to me like a great wilderness. After the 
war, our Boston people were persuaded to undertake an exten- 
sion of the Burlington & Missouri River railroad to Chariton, 
fifty-six miles from Ottumwa, and in August, 1 866, I made my 
second trip across the state with James F. Joy, of Detroit, then 
president of the company. The end of the track was a few 
mile-i west of Chillicothe, say ten miles beyond Ottumwa, where 
we left the railroad and took a carriage and pair, with Peter G. 
Ballingall to drive. After six or seven days, stopping briefly at 
the county seats, we landed at Plattsmouth. 

The result of this expedition was that Mr. Joy definitely de- 
cided against an extension to the Missouri river, and he doubted 
the wisdom of going even as far as Chariton. He told me he 
did not believe a road through the counties of Clarke, Union, 
Adams, Montgomery and Mills, could be made to pay in thirty 
years, and that he should advise his eastern friends not to take 
the risk of building. He acted on this conviction, and a year 
or so later resigned the presidency, because his view did not 
prevail. 

Mr. Joy's wide experience as a successful railroad pioneer in 
Michigan, and in Illinois, necessarily gave great weight to his 
opinion, but, fortunately, as it turned out, John M. Forbes and 
John W. Brooks, of Boston, and James W. Grimes, of Iowa, 
did not agree with him, and the road was built in spite of very 
hard sledding financially, and with serious doubt about the re- 
sult for several years." 

Many miles of the road already built proved unprofitable to 
the owners. It passed through a receiver's hands and was fi- 
nally bought at a greatly depreciated value and put into the Bur- 
lington System. Then came a period of conflict of interests and 



RAILROADS 67 

misundertandings, with much adverse legislation, and as a con- 
sequence, railroad building in the state was suspended for ten 
years. 

Nothing can obscure the fact that wonderful progress in the 
development of the leading industries of the people, has been 
largely brought about by the railroad. Its advent into our coun- 
try marked a new era in our history. It gave impetus to various 
new enterprises and the people rejoiced that so great a boon had 
come to them. It was determined at first to build a first-class 
road across the state, with a maximum grade of forty feet to the 
mile, but when built, the grade in some places was nearly twice 
as much; now since the double track has been built, it has been 
reduced to a maximum of thirty-five feet. 

Col. Alfred Hebard of Red Oak was employed to find the 
most feasible route from the Des Moines to the Missouri River, 
the route, from Burlington to Ottumwa having already been 
determined upon. He set out upon this undertaking in the fall 
of 1853 and, without setting compass or stretching a chain, 
took observations without the toil of measuring obstacles tha* 
were apparent at a glance. After a tedious trip, he arrived at 
Council Bluffs. Summing up his observations and notes, he 
found a difficult task before him, as related by himself in a news- 
paper contribution : 

The first day out from Ottumwa took us into chasms and 
gorges along Soap Creek that would require something like the 
pyramids of Egypt for bridging. We abandoned the route as fast 
as we could leave it, satisfied, however, to the north we should 
find a drainage favorable to our line. It proved so on our return. 
We followed the trail of the Mormons to Mt. Pisgah, in Union 
county, a station on their line of travel in their exodus from 
Nauvoo. From this point onward the rough country on the 
head branches of Grand river, the Nodaway, and other streams 
that had their sources in this region, forbid anything like a fea- 
sible line through to the Bluffs, and to this circumstance we are 



68 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

indebted for a more southerly location, where we have it today. 

"Iowa is a great uneven plain, without mountain, elevation 
or hill even, except relatively to adjacent valleys; highest in the 
north and northwest, with a southerly dip or decline sufficient 
to give direction to her drainage, and a somewhat rapid current 
to hei streams especially in time of floods. The action of these 
waters during a long period of years, on a loose and porous soil, 
has eroded valleys broad and deep, separated from each other 
by stretches of land that rise between them to the level of the 
general plane of the state. Between the water plane of the 
Missouri and the West Botna the elevation at some points is 
about three hundred feet, from East Botna to Nodaway some- 
what less, but still very high. The necessity of crossing these 
broad valleys and the intervening high divides put an end to our 
fancied idea of a grade limited to 40 feet to the mile. Unfor- 
tunately too, for the business capacity of a road is largely gov- 
erned by its rate and amount of grades. The valleys were so 
broad that they could not be crossed by an elevated track and 
our only way to relieve grades was to hunt out the lowest points 
in the divide and run our line of levels through them, availing 
ourselves of every kind of ravine or lateral drainage to reach and 
leave these summits. 

"It is not worth while to go into every detail of our daily 
progress. It was simply crossing valleys — ascending and de- 
scending divides most of the way back to Ottumwa — care- 
fully measuring and leveling the entire line, so that the company 
might have reliable data for future consideration. I did not 
have any great confidence in our line at the time. I knew I had 
left some hard points for subsequent solution, but, as whole sea- 
sons were spent in surveys afterward, and the road finally was 
located and built on the route indicated in this first survey, I 
am led to believe that the effort was not entirely a useless one. 

"I wish to add that the line of our first survey did not pass 
through Villisca, but crossed the Nodaway some five or six 



RAILROADS 69 

miles to the north, the only change that I know of. Our whole 
work was a very quick and hurried affair but I know that I put 
in some five weeks of the hardest work I ever did. I will not 
name my compensation further than to say it would correspond 
very well with the price of oats at the present time. Popula- 
tion was more than scarce — one squatter in Adams county and 
one man by the name of Starr engaged in commerce in Union 
county. He had a cabin near where Afton now is — a kind of 
half-way station on the 'Mormon trail.' His stock in trade 
consisted of a keg of whiskey and plug tobacco. Weary trav- 
ellers could halt and refresh and then stock up for the balance 
of their journey." 

Mr. Hebard's report was a masterpiece of practical fore- 
sight, sound judgment and scientific skill, though the work was 
not utilzed for more than fifteen years. 

The first incorporated company which built a line across the 
state was the Burlington & Missouri River R. R. Co., organiz- 
ed January 1 5th, 1 852. The survey commenced in the fall of 
1 853 and the grading the next spring, in May 1 854. The road 
now known as the Rock Island was incorporated in October 
1852. Peter A. Dey was its chief engineer, and under his 
direction. General A. M. Dodge started from Davenport, a 
small town, for Iowa City, the capitol. The country was un- 
settled excepting at rare intervals and that chieHy along the 
streams, where rude habitations might be seen. General 
Dodge followed up Clear Creek and then along the waters of 
the Iowa River, finding small settlements at Amanda and 
Marengo. 

In Audubon County, north of Ballcird's Grove, his survey 
passed the present cities of Grinnell, Newton, Des Moines, and 
Boone, intersecting the east Nishnabotna near the present town 
of Exira. General Dodge says, "The country was very beau- 
tiful to look upon, and full of elk and deer. There were no 
settlers, no roads, no trails through it. The valley of the Nish- 
nabotna impressed the whole party as being one of the most 



70 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

beautiful that they had ever seen." They passed on to the 
West Nishnabotna, crossing it where Harlan now stands. "At 
this point, Mr. Dey overtook us, having in charge a son of Rev. 
Dr. Bacon of New Haven, Conn. They had expected to 
meet us at East Botna. Failing to do so, and it being very 
difficult for them to cross the streams, they left their wagon 
in the valley of Indian Creek and undertook to find us on horse- 
back. They made the fork of the Indian that night and camp- 
ed there. My party being further advanced than Mr. Dey 
expected, and Bacon not being used to riding a horse bareback, 
he left him to rest there and to follow the wagon trail to our 
camp. Mr. Dey reached our camp on the West Botna at 
Cuppey's Grove. Cuppey and a minister named Johnson be- 
ing the only settlers on the West Botna anywhere near our line. 
Bacon riot reaching camp that evening, I started east on horse- 
back to find him, and just before I reached Indian Creek. I ran 
into a band of Indians who had been south into Missouri steal- 
ing, and had their ponies packed with their plunder. It was a 
clear, moonlight night, and both of us were surprised and alarm- 
ed. The Indians thought that probably a posse of Missourians 
was following them, whilst I was astonished to find Indians in 
that part of the country. Both of us lit out in different direc- 
tions with great speed. I found Bacon on the divide between 
Indian Creek and the West Botna, drifting south, in a very 
weak condition, both mentally and physically." 

From the West Botna, the course taken was nearly due west 
till they struck Keg Creek; then they followed the creek until 
they reached Council Bluffs. They passed through several 
Mormon settlements, on their way. The General says, "In 
this trip across the state, the beauty of the landscape, the fertility 
of the soil, the clear streams dotted here and there with groves, 
were very attractive, not only to me but to all the party. It was 
so far superior to what we had seen in Illinois that we were all 
enraptured with the country. In my own mind, I then deter- 
mined to make Council Bluffs my home, and when I returned to 



RAILROADS 71 

Iowa City, I so informed Mr. Dey." Grading was commenced 
on this road east from Council Bluffs in 1857. This attracted 
settlers to the valley of the Missouri slope. Time has vindicated 
the judgment of General Dodge, one of the greatest of Iowa 
soldiers and one of the most successful leaders of American 
enterprise and business. 

The progress made by the Burlington Railroad has been 
phenomenal. There are two hundred and seventy-seven miles 
of main line and one thousand and eighty-two miles of branch 
lines in Iowa. The valuation per mile is $67,500.00 on the 
m'?.in line and $20,465.00 per mile on the branch roads — the 
average being $30,060.00. In 1858 there were two trains 
daily each way from Burlington to Fairfield. There are today 
eighty-one passenger trains, exclusive of mail trains, on the Bur- 
lington road and its branches. 

In connection with the history of the Burlington road in the 
county, the great enterprise of double tracking the main line can 
not be overlooked. This was undertaken in 1 903 and the work 
in the county extended over a period of nearly two years. The 
grades on the old line had been unusually heavy, in some places 
approaching eighty feet to the mile. This made the hauling of 
heavy freight trains a difficult problem and in rebuilding the track 
it was determined that no grade of more than thirty feet to the 
mile should be established and that the numerous sharp curves 
over the road should be eliminated. This made it an exceedingly 
laborious and expensive task, in some places the cost of construc- 
tion reaching a total of not far from $ 1 00,000 a mile. The con- 
struction throughout was of the most approved type. All of 
the bridges were built of iron and concrete and the river bridges 
of the most approved steel construction. Level grade cross- 
ings were practically abolished, thus removing the possibility of 
repeating numerous fatal accidents which occurred on the old 
line. The old right of way has been abandoned by the road 
and, under the law, reverts to the state after two years. 



CHAPTER IX. 



THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD, 

Though situated on the very verge of civilization and with- 
out railroads or telegraph connections with any part of the 
world, Montgomery county did not escape the fierce slavery 
agitation that preceded the Civil War. The liberty loving 
pioneers, almost without exception, were strongly opposed to 
the institution of slavery ; nor did they take kindly to the contin- 
ual legislation enacted in the slave holder's interests. The few 
sympathizers were silenced by the force of public opinion and 
violations of statutory law in giving of assistance to fugitive slaves 
was open and unrebuked. Slavery existed throughout the 
state of Missouri, and, naturally, the slaves escaping from that 
section very frequently made their way through Page and 
Montgomery counties on their way to Canada. This of course 
meant pursuit and frequently parties of "nigger catchers," as 
Itiey were styled, startled the isolated settlers in different parts 
of the county. A short review of contemporaneous events 
throughout the state and county may serve to give some idea of 
the legislation and court decisions that were responsible for the 
intense bitterness that prevailed. 

The trouble with slavery went back to the formation of our 
national constitution. The framers of this great document, 
which Gladstone declared the wisest ever formulated by man, 
clearly saw the absurdity of inculcating in that instrument any 
recognition of slavery, so inharmonious with its declaration that 
all men are created free and equal. Jefferson, the author of the 
document, was personally in favor of abolition and substituted a 






To JNO, VAN VALKENBURG, Esq,, Grand Sec'y of the Grand Council ofU. L, of A. for Iowa, 

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THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD 73 

milder term for the word "slave." The sentiment at that time 
was not so strongly in favor of the institution of slavery and if it 
had not been for the many other grievous problems confronting 
the framers of the new government, the question of slavery by 
gradual abolition might have been successfully solved. As it 
was, nothing was done and when on account of the invention of 
the cotton gin and the culture of cotton slave labor became of 
great value, the hope of any peaceable settlement of the ques- 
tion had well nigh perished. The slaveholders claimed the 
right under the constitution, to take their chattels, which of 
course included negroes, to any portion of the United States they 
might choose to go. This position was generally antagonized 
throughout the North and especially in the pioneer sections of 
the West. The men who had left the far East in the hope of 
a larger freedom, did not take kindly to involuntary servitude in 
their midst. The legislation, however, was all in favor of the 
slave holder and under the law every northern man was an 
enforced slave catcher. Any United States marshal could 
command any man to assist him in recovering runaway slaves. 
Very severe penalities were imposed on anyone who disobeyed 
this law. A fine of $1,000 and six months imprisonment was 
the penalty that might be inflicted on any person harboring a 
fugitive slave or in any way assisting in his escape. The fugi- 
tives were to be surrendered on demand without the benefit of 
any testimony or trial by jury. The validity of this law was 
passed upon by the supreme court of the United States in the 
celebrated "Dred Scott" case. This court decided that it had 
no jurisdiction because no slave or descendant of a slave could 
become a citizen of the United States and therefore had no 
rights of any kind before any legal tribunal. In connection 
with this decision the court gave as its decison that the Mis- 
souri Compromise was unconstitutional and that a slave did not 
cease to be one by being carried to territory where the Com- 
promise prohibited slavery. Such a decision, coming from the 



74 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

highest court in the land, so glaringly and manifestly unjust, 
naturally infuriated every advocate of freedom throughout the 
North, and now^here w^as it more bitterly denounced than by 
the people of the state of low^a. The courts of this state refused 
to recognize the decision, even though it came from the supreme 
court of the nation. Instead of rendering assistance to slave 
catchers as required by law, the people of the state generally 
threw every obstacle possible in the way of any attempt to cap- 
ture the fugitive and not infrequently opposed them with a 
force of arms. 

This sentiment of freedom had begun very early in Iowa in 
1839, and long before the state had been admitted to the 
Union, the Supreme Court of the territory had passed on a 
peculiar and rather important case. It was known as the case 
of "Ralph" who was a colored man who had been held as a 
slave in Missouri and had bought his freedom of his master for 
less than the price which negroes were then brnging in the mar- 
ket. His master permitted him to go to the lead mines of Du- 
buque to earn the purchase price of his freedom, and though 
there was a v^itten contract between the slave and his master, 
the latter decided to cancel and disregard this because he alleged 
that the slave was not saving enough money to pay his indebted- 
ness. Finding it very difficult to secure the return of Ralph, 
the master contracted with slave catchers to kidnap him and re- 
turn him to Missouri. He was accordingly seized while at 
work, handcuffed, and taken to the steamboat landing. A 
farmer who witnessed the affair reported to the office to Thos. 
S. Wilson, one of the justices of the Supreme court, and de- 
manded a writ of habeas corpus, which was promtly granted 
and the case was transferred to the supreme court for trial. The 
three judges constituting the court, though all were democrats, 
decided that Ralph was a resident of that territory of Iowa and 
recognized no property in men, and furthermore declared that 
the laws of another state did not apply in this case. Freedom, 



THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD 75 

they insisted, was a natural right, and slavery could not exist in 
Iowa. All honor to these pioneer judges for placing Iowa early 
on record as a staunch supporter of freedom. While the decision 
was in no way a legal precedent, except possibly for Iowa alone, 
and had no extra territorial effect, it showed that the territory 
of Iowa was well in advance of all other sections of the Union 
in opposing the institution of slavery. There were people in 
every part of the north, and particularly in the pioneer West, 
who, regardless of laws in favor of slaveholders, did all in their 
power to harbor, conceal and protect from pursuers the fugi- 
tives who frequently attempted to find freedom in Canada. 

A series of secret yet well defined routes were laid out 
through the free states and a number of these so-called "under- 
ground railroads" ran through the state of Iowa. The fugitives 
were concealed in some safe locality during the day-time and 
were hurried on their journey by night from one station to 
another. Naturally enough, these friends of the oppressed slave 
were held in the most bitter detestation by the people of the 
South. No terms of denunciation could be strong enough and 
no epithet vile enough to express the opprobrium of the slave 
holders. Even murderers were held in higher repute by the 
southern gentry than the detested "nigger stealers" of the North. 
Yet, as we look back on these times of bitterness and hatred, it 
is easy enough to see that among this detested class were the nob- 
lest and most Christian characters of the times. Montgomery 
county participated to some extent in the stirring scenes of the 
times. Many of her good people lent substantial assistance to 
the slaves and the writer of this book, though technically a 
lawbreaker, harbored and helped on their way many of those 
needing assistance. He was at that time living in a house on 
the east side of Tarkio Creek, about a mile east of the old town 
of Frankfort. At one time no less than seven fugitives were 
secreted in the "lean-to" addition of his residence, and they 
only ventured out when apprised that there was no danger of 
discovery. One of these was an intelligent young colored man 
who had escaped some months before from his master in Ken- 



76 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

tucky, and, eluding his pursuers, had landed safely in Canada. 
After a short time he determined to return and assist his mother, 
four brothers and one sister to escape from bondage. It was 
an extremely hazardous undertaking, but they had succeeded, 
with the aid of sympathizing friends, in coming thus far on their 
journey. A Congregational minister whose home was in 
Amity, Page County, was their pilot. The writer did not 
learn of their safe arrival in Canada but in all probability they 
Tvere not captured. Their pursuers thought the negroes were 
concealed in one of the small groves along the Tarkio. Four 
men, riding good horses and carrying a small arsenal of fire arms 
came up from the south in pursuit of the negroes but their prey 
had flown. The fugitives were taken by wagon from point to 
point. The stations were sometimes long distances apart and 
dark and stormy nights were preferably chosen for the trans- 
fer. If pursuit were close, the fugitives remained concealed 
during the day time. They were not infrequently conveyed 
in canvas covered wagons and when meeting anyone on the 
road would lie concealed in the bottom of the wagon bed. 
The pioneers did not take kindly to any inquisitiveness in such 
cases and a man had to be pretty sure of his right of search 
before he undertook it. 

The agents and stations of the underground railroad were 
unknown to the general public. Instructions sent in advance 
might have read something like this: "By tomorrow eve- 
ning's mail you will receive two volumes of "The Irrepressible 
Conflict," bound in black. After perusal, please forward, 
and oblige." The underground railroad did a strictly passen- 
ger business. Fares were never demanded and the only divi^ 
dends secured was the consciousness of service for righteous- 
ness and human freedom. After President Lincoln's Procla- 
mation of Emancipati'On, the underground railroad passed into 
history and all that remains is a memory and hope that similar 
conditions may never arise in this land of the free. 



CHAPTER X. 



JOHN BROWN. 

It must not be forgotten, in connection with the exciting times 
that preceded the war, that Montgomery County was located 
not far from the scene of the earlier actions of John Brown and 
his followers. The history of this strange enthusiast, whose 
wild actions undoubtedly precipitated the Civil War, is well 
known, but it was of such vast importance that a short reference 
to his history may not be out of place in this book. 

John Brown was a New Yorker who went to Osawatomie, 
Kansas, to find a home, and it was not long after that the con- 
flict with slavery was precipitated, when Kansas sought admis- 
sion to the Union. Had the Kansans been left to themselves, 
there would have been no difficulty, for the sentiment of the 
people of the territory was all for freedom. The trouble came 
from interference of the wild and lawless slavery forces from the 
adjoining state of Missouri, and the history of the murders and 
cruelties perpetrated by these guerrillas is too well known to 
necessitate repeating. John Brown could not stand by and see 
injustice of this kind. He met force with force and very soon a 
state of war existed in Kansas. He recognized the slave ques- 
tion as being at the bottom of the whole difficulty and in a 
moment of fanaticism, he conceived the idea of endeavoring to 
wipe out this great wrong by resort to force. While he has 
generally been regarded as of unbalanced mind, the system and 
careful plannng which he showed in his undertaking would 
seem to indicate that he was more of a fierce enthusiast than a 
lunatic 



78 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

It is not generally known that southwestern Iowa was the scene 
of his preparations for action. Rev. Dr. Hill of Atlantic, an 
old time resident of Tabor, is responsible for the statement: 
"John Brown was in Tabor most of his time for six months and, 
more or less, for a year or two preceding his incursion in Vir- 
ginia. Tabor, in fact, Vv'as his headquarters for his earlier oper- 
ations in Kansas. I saw him almost daily in public and in pri- 
vate." It seems, however, that the citizens of the town, while 
thoroughly in sympathy with Brown's attitude against slavery, 
were not in favor of the warlike methods which he was adopt- 
ing. A meeting appears to have been held to consider the ef- 
fect of these on the community and Dr. Hill goes on to say : 

''The meeting in Tabor of which Brown complained was 
held while he was there with a company of his men, having with 
them a number of negroes whom they had brought from Mis- 
souri. Brown had taken the slaves, teams and other neces- 
saries for their journey by force. He claimed that slavery had 
no legal right; that it was a state of war, and the slaves were 
only prisoners of war, held by force and not by right, and there- 
fore they might be released from servitude by force. I took 
part in the public meeting held to consider the situation. Af- 
ter a warm debate, a resolution was adopted, declaring that 
while we held it right to assist the fleeing slaves in every way, 
and would do this, still, it was not expedient to invade the slave 
states by force, thus virtually making war and precipitating a 
serious disturbance. These are not the exact words of the reso- 
lution but the sentiment and force of them. Brown was a very 
logical man and very little influenced by difficulties in the appli- 
cation of his principles. A number of interesting events occurr- 
ed during his stay in Tabor." 

He proceeded with system and selected from his oldest asso- 
ciates a dozen or more of trusty companions, including his son, 
Owen, who had seen with h'm service in the Kansas border 
conflict. He employed Hugh Forbes, who had seen service 



JOHN BROWN 79 

in Europe, to drill his men at Tabor for this military expedition. 
And, while, as we have seen, the town was full of sympathy 
with his cause, the measures which he adopted were scarcely 
approved. This school for military instruction was of short du- 
ration and would probably not have been tolerated at all in any 
other county, so strong, even in the north, was the sympathy 
with slavery in the south. Tabor, however, was made up of a 
colony from Oberlin, Ohio, and of people who were unusually 
radical for the time. It is said that when the conflict came, 
this town gave more men and treasures in behalf of freedom in 
proportion to its population than any other town in the United 
States. Brown and his small squad next appeared at Spring- 
dale, a small village in the southwestern corner of Cedar Coun- 
ty, Iowa. Their former drill master had been dismissed and 
Aaron Stevens of the U. S. Army was substituted. Stevens 
had been court martialed for assaulting Major Longstreet, Gen. 
Lee's Lieutenant-General in the War of the Rebellion. He 
had been ordered to be shot but the President commuted his 
sentence to three years imprisonment. He made his escape, 
changed his name to Whipple and became a colonel in the free 
state war in Kansas. 

On page 379, Vol. 1, of B. F. Cue's History of Iowa, is a 
description of John Brown's followers: 

"John Henri Kagi was an accomplished writer and steno- 
grapher, a correspondent of the New York Post and an elo- 
quent public speaker. Richard Realf was a young English- 
man of rare talents, a poet and orator, and had been a protege 
of Lady Byron. John E. Cook was a young man, brave and 
chivalrous, a fine writer and poet. His young wife was a sister 
of the wife of Governor Willard of Indiana. Such were some 
of the men enlisted in the Harper's Ferry plan for liberating the 
slaves." 

The old emancipator revealed to three or four citizens of 
Springdale the purpose he had in view in drilling his men. He 



80 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

firmly believed that in a righteous cause, "One could chase a 
thousand and two would put ten thousand to flight," and that 
he would strike a blow that would ultimately overthrow slavery 
in this country. His strong and commanding personality in- 
fluenced several young men of Springdale and vicinity to enlist, 
among whom were George B. Gill, Edwin and Barclay Cop- 
poc and Steward Taylor. Dr. H. Gill, to whom Brown re- 
vealed his plan of liberation, even going into details, said to him, 
"You and your handfull of men cannot cope with the whole 
South " His reply was, "I tell you. Doctor, it will be the 
beginning of the end of slavery. "Brown was elected Comman- 
der in Chief. Secretaries of War, of State and of the Treasury 
were chosen. John Brown would not be dissuaded from his 
purpose. In the east, where he had gone, Gerrit Smith, F. B. 
Sanborn, Wendell Phillips and Theodore Parker remonstrated 
with him in vain. In April, 1859. he arrived in Springdale 
and ordered his men to move east. The enterprise for a time 
was delayed and his forces permitted to scatter to re-assemble 
when called. Brown went to Kansas, with Tidd, Kagi and 
two others, crossed into Missouri to liberate slaves who were to 
be sold and their families separated. They took twelve slaves, 
horses, wagons, cattle and other property, to which Brown 
claimed the slaves were entitled for years of unpaid labor. One 
slave holder resisted and was killed by Stevens. Large re- 
wards were offered by the Governor of Missouri for the arrest 
of Brown and his men and the recovery of the slaves. 

Early in January, Brown and several members of his party 
began the journey with the slaves in wagons, by way of Ne- 
braska and Iowa to Canada. They reached Tabor, Iowa, on 
the 5th day of February. 1 859, where they remained until the 
1 1 th. The citizens of Tabor became alarmed at Brown's in- 
vasion of Missouri and forcible liberation of slaves, fearing re- 
taliation from the Missourians, as they were near the State line. 
"To relieve themselves from the charge of complicity with 



JOHN BROWN 81 

Brown, the citizens held a public meeting and passed resolu- 
tions condemning the acts of him and his followers." On the 
1 1 th. the slaves were conveyed on their journey along the line 
of the Underground Railroad. Their route was by way of 
White Cloud and up the Botna as far as the stone quarry at 
the mouth of Farm Creek and up that stream to Wheeler's 
Grove, thence to Lewis, where Oliver Mills was the chief 
agent. They arrived there on the 13th and from there on by 
Grove City, Dalmanuth, Redfield, Adel, Des Moines and 
Grinnell, thence to Canada. At Wheeler's Grove and Grove 
City there was talk of interfering with Mr. Brown's plans but 
his crowd was not an attractive one for such a program. 

John Brown made several trips through our county in travel- 
ing back and forth from Kansas to the east. He made the 
home of the Bond's, the parents of Jacob, Ellis and Amasa 
Bond and Mrs. A. Milner of this county, then living at Frank- 
fort, his stopping place, and it was there that the late J. B. 
Packard conversed with him. But little information was ob- 
tained concerning his business. He left the impression that he 
was reticent, non-communicative and not easily approached by 
strangers. He had the air of one deeply engrossed with his 
own thoughts; silent, yet restlessly walking back and forth with 
measured steps and in deep meditation. If he could have read 
the future and have foreseen the part he was to play in the 
great drama soon to be enacted in his country, it would have 
been to him an awe-inspiring scene. He doubtless would have 
calmly and heroically yielded up his life for freedom. He said 
in the presence of his executioners, "I do not reproach myself 
for my failures. I did what I could. I think I cannot better 
serve the cause I love so much than to die for it." On the day 
of his execution, Victor Hugo, then in exile, wrote these pro- 
phetic words: 

"John Brown, condemned to death, is to be hanged today. 
His hangman is not Governor Wise nor the little State of Vir- 



82 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

ginia. His hangman (we shudder to think and say it) is the 
whole American Republic. Politically speaking, the murder 
of John Brown will be an irrevocable mistake. It will deal the 
Union a concealed wound which will finally sunder the States." 
This great apostle of liberty a few months later wrote: "Slavery 
in all its forms will disappear. What the South slew last De- 
cember was not John Brown, but slavery. The American 
Union must be considered dissolved. Between the North and 
the South, the gallows of Brown. Union is no longer possible. 
Such a crime can not be spared." 

Two years later the great army of the Potomac, of a hun- 
dred thousand men, marched through Virginia singing, "John 
Brown's body lies mouldering in the grave, but his soul goes 
marching on." Appomatox sealed the fate of slavery and re- 
united the disintegrated states into one glorious, inseparable 
Union. 



CHAPTER X 



BEN 

No one who was not then an actual resident of Montgomery 
County can accurately describe the anti-slavery sentiment that 
existed about the time of the famous Dred Scott decision. 
Harriett Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was in every 
northern household and had been read and re-read by young 
and old. In the United States Senate, Daniel Webster was 
making speeches that will live for all time, while in the west, 
John Brown and Jim Lane were assisting negroes to escape into 
Iowa, where they were aided and abetted by friendly whites on 
their night journeys to Canada, the land of the free. Neigh- 
bors fought list fights; brother conspired against brother. 
About this time, too, the Union League of America and the 
Knights of the Golden Circle flourished and both held meet- 
ings, secret or otherwise, in this country ; the one favoring a con- 
tinuance of the war, the other encouraging, if not actually aid- 
ing the South. There were reports of- mysterious killings at- 
tributed to these organizations and everyone was ready to mis- 
understand, to misquote and to give credence to any rumor that 
might be set in motion against anyone whom suspicion named 
as having had anything to do with slavery or as being friendly 
to its extension into new territory. 

Into the settlement at X , there had moved a man 

whose ancestors, back in old Kentucky, had owned slaves ever 
since there had been slaves to own. He was poor, wretchedly 
poor, and had removed to the new state, excited by rumors of 
fortunes to be made there. In going, he had cut loose from his 



84 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTS 

relatives and associates — had asked and received nothing from 
them. So far as they were concerned, he did not exist, except 
that he had said, when leaving, that he was going to Iowa and 

expected to locate near a village called X , somewhere 

near the Missouri River. In some indiscreet moment, the Ken- 
tuckian had divulged his birth place and told that his people 
had owned slaves. From that time on, he was a target for 
insult and ridicule. Open threats were made against him; his 
nearest neighbors shunned him or passed him without greeting; 
even the small boys called him "Nigger Wilson" and shied a 
clod or snow-ball when he came for his mail. He was a man 
of medium height and with a weak, though kindly, counte- 
nance. A scraggy red beard partly concealed a retiring chin, 
and his whole general appearance was one of resignation. He 
was as timid and inoffensive as a rabbit and one who would as 
soon have opened the veins of his right arm as to engage in actual 
physical combat with anyone. 

One red-letter day the village postmaster received a let- 
ter for Wilson bearing the post mark of a town in Kentucky. 
As it was an event which had not heretofore occurred in the 
history if his office, he promptly told his wife. Upon one 
occasion, at a quilting bee, the postmaster's wife had offered to 
record a bet that Wilson "owned slaves, or had something to do 
with them, anyway," and this fact may have had something to 
do with the news leaking out. If she had read the contents of 
that letter, she might have seen therein, set out in a firm legal 
hand, the following : 

Clusterville, Ky., January 12th, 1860. 
James Wilson, Esq., 

X , Montgomery County, Iowa. 

Dear Sir: I have to inform you of the death of your 
uncle. Kirk Wilson, who has left to you by will, one black 



BEN 85 

man called "Ben." Kindly advise me what disposition 
you wish made of the property. Respectfully, 

JOHN HEYWOOD, 
Clerk Probate Court, Benton County, Ky. 

You, who are secure in your homes, who at a mom.ent's no- 
tice can call to your aid all the protection the law affords, pic- 
ture in your mind a half-starved settler, without a friend on 
earth, sitting on a grocer's good box, and by the light of a tallow 
dip, slowly spelling out the words of a letter which, if publish- 
ed, meant, as he firmly believed — and not without good cause 
— death at the end of a rope. 

He knew that there was but one thing to do, and that it must 

be done immediately. He would tell the people of X 

that he had never before owned a slave and that he would give 
this one, so suddenly thrust upon him, his liberty. But no — 
he now did own one, and, in any event, it was proof absolute 
that his relatives dealt in the trade. What if he did tell them he 
would set Ben free — what good would that do? What mob 
ever stopped to consider motives or read a letter? It would 
simply be another case of hanging first. By two o'clock in the 
morning, he had sufficiently recovered from the shock to be able 
to indite a letter, on a soap wrapper, to John Heywood, Clerk 
of Benton County, that Ben should be set free — which he 
vaguely understood to mean that the negro should be turned 
out much as one would liberate a horse from a barn. His plan 
was to exhibit the present letter, together with the one which 
would be received announcing Ben's freedom, to the villagers, 
with the result that they would, of one accord, make restitution 
for the unjust suspicions they had entertained against him. They 
would say, he argued, that it would be much harder, and there- 
fore more commendable, for a poor man to give up a slave 
worth perhaps five hundred dollars, than it would be for one 
who had never owned a "nigger" to part with one. 



86 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

Jim Wilson's ideas were not very definite as to the con- 
stitutional points involved, or w^hether it w^as right from a moral 
standpoint to own slaves. He had always referred to colored 
men as "niggers," a name which grated on the sensitive ear of 

X , he had always supposed, though he could give no 

other reason than that it had always been so, that it was per- 
fectly legitimate to own a slave, providing one had money 
enough to buy one. The remembrance of his having expressed 
these and similar sentiments in the hearing of the people of 

X , filled him with terror, and at the particular moment 

he was writing the clerk, a four foot prairie rattler would have 
been a more welcome visitor than his own thoughts. The let- 
ter, when finally completed, written in a cramped, nervous 
hand, read as follows: 

X , Montgomery County, Iowa. 

John Heywood, Clerk. 

Dear Sir: Your letter received. Ben is free. Yours, 

JIM WILSON. 

The postmaster's wife noticed that a light burned in Wilson's 
window late that night and mentally recorded the fact. 

The mails of the frontier were necessarily slow and often de- 
layed by floods and storms, so it was no unusual occurrence if 
a reply to a letter — even if answered immediately — when com- 
ing from a distance, did not reach its destination for several 
months. In the meantime, Wilson vv^as suffering from a severe 
attack of "high strikes." He had carefully buried under the 
floor of his cabin the letter from the clerk, but the feeling that 
he was all alone with his secret was so overwhelming, that the 
chances were against his keeping the matter concealed and at 
the same time preserving a well balanced mind. What if he 
talked in his sleep — a thing he knew he did, as he had often 
been awakened by his own cries. What if the clerk did not 
answer at once? What if the letter were intercepted or lost? 



BEN 87 

Worst of all, the postmaster's wife had a habit of looking at 
him as if she knew. 

Time alone brings relief from all things, and one evening 
there was placed in Wilson's trembling fingers a letter which 
he instinctively knew to be from Heywood, the clerk. It in- 
formed Wilson that his simple statement that Ben was free, was 
not a compliance with Kentucky laws, and that before said 
intended act could be made of effect and legal, an affidavit, etc., 
properly drawn and accompanied by the necessary fee must 
be forthcoming. He took great pleasure in referring Wilson 
(who had not seen a dollar since he left Kentucky) to the law 
firm of Good & Wise, who, he said, could probably realize 
something from the sale of the chattel. This was all, but it was 
enough for poor Wilson, and for a time his mind refused to 
work. Somewhere the sun was shining; somewhere the birds 

were singing; but it was not in or about X . After a 

time it came to him just what must happen: there would be 
the rail, the tar and the feathers. Then, in his wavering mind, 
he pictured the lifeless body of a man swinging to and fro in the 
prairie breeze — and the man looked like Wilson. 

The postmaster's wife, true to her trust, again observed the 
tell-tale light, and the next morning told Mary, who worked 
at the hotel, that it was the second time she had seen the light, 
and that it always occurred after Wilson had received a letter 
from Kentucky. The letter that Wilson wrote that night was 
composed much in the same spirit as one might be if written by 
an innocent man just before the death warrant is read. He in- 
formed Heywood that he had no money, didn't want Ben, and 
that he couldn't hire lawyers. He again added that "Ben 
was free," a statement he had repeated to himself time and time 
again, and one he had resolved to make when the mob came 
with the tar and the rope. For some reason the clerk never 
answered this letter, or if he did, Wilson never received it, and 



88 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

it was more than eighteen months before Wilson again heard 
from his property. 

During the interval, the man had grown suddenly old, and 
walked with a decided stoop. His every action was an evid- 
ence of guilt of some kind, for he would start at the slightest 
sound and would often stand for some moments in one place, 
gazing apparently at nothing. He had known Ben, and knew 
that he was too good a servant to run away, but still it was a 
satisfaction sometimes to think that he had done so. He was 
in this frame of mind when he received a letter from one of the 
county commissioners of Benton County, Kentucky: 

Clusterville, Ky., August 3d, 186K 
James Wilson, Esq., 

X , Montgomery Co., Iowa. 

Dear Sir: I beg to inform you that "Ben," your col- 
ored man servant, died on the 30th of June, and was 
buried the 2d of July. There being no one to claim the 
body, he was buried at the expense of the county. We 
hope to hear from you soon and request that you enclose 
$80.00, the expense of burial. There were some personal 
effects, which will be forwarded you if you so desire. 
Respectfully, 

ROBERT GURNEY, 
Chairman County Commissioners, Benton Co., Ky. 

In sheer despair, Wilson replied to this communication. He 
wrote the commissioner that he had tried his best to free Ben; 
that he had no claim on him and that he could not pay the ex- 
pense. This done, he gave himself up for lost. He was con- 
fident that the commissioners would not be satisfied until they 

had written some one in X , to ascertain his financial 

condition. The war had been going on for some time and the 
hatred toward slavery had increased. Soldiers had returned 
to the county, some maimed for life and some in boxes, and 



BEN 89 

Wilson was sure that the fact that he had tried to free Ben 
would not save him ; it would be considered only in connection 
with the manner of his death. 

Strange to say, the commissioners were never again heard 
from, and Wilson kept his secret carefully hidden, divulging it 
only after President Lincoln's proclamation. Through some 
awkward course of reasoning, he seemed to think this official 
act applied to the dead as well as to the living. 

Several things had happened to Wilson in the meantime: 
He had been defeated in two lawsuits — one involving the title 
to his home. His barn had been burned to the ground; his 
dog poisoned; his sanity questioned; his health nearly ruined; 

and he had been completely ostracized by the society of X 

and Montgomery County — v/hich only proves that it is much 
easier to free a slave in a free state than it is to free a free slave 
in a slave state. 

Editor's Note — The story of the negro, "Ben," is substan- 
tially true. Ben was owned in Montgomery County and title 
had been acquired as has been herein stated — by will. He 
was a cook, and married, and "Ben" was his real name. Wil- 
son and other names are, of course, fictitious, as the real owner 
is still alive. The attempt to "free Ben" was made as de- 
scribed and only failed through indecision, fear and want 
of funds. 



CHAPTER XII. 



WAR OF THE REBELLION. 

The subject of our civil war naturally divides itself into 
tvv^o parts: how^ w^e became involved in the great conflict and 
how^ it was fought to a glorious conclusion. The elimination 
of millions of facts which seem important, and the presentation, 
in just proportions, of a few thousand which have a general 
and abiding interest, is not here attempted. "The momentous 
struggle was on such a gigantic scale, the events so many, its 
area so vast and its duration so considerable" as to give one 
thoughtful hesitation. 

The whole field has been surveyed from every point of 
view by conscientious historians, and their conclusions duly 
recorded. Some of them emphasize the importance of the 
declarations of the political leaders and platforms of the con- 
tending parties, and others place the emphasis upon military 
campaigns, sieges and decisive battles. During the continu- 
ance of the war, it occupied the center of the world's stage, 
and grave questions, as they arose from time to time, were dis- 
cussed by the newspaper press; for here, more vividly than 
elsewhere are all public questions fully debated. From this 
wide field, space forbids us to enter and glean facts and conclu- 
sions for the purpose of this chapter. From the earliest period 
of our national history, thoughtful people deplored the existence 
of human slavery. They recognized the incongruity of a gov- 
ernment, founded upon the principle of universal freedom from 
oppression, and at the same time holding the negro in bondage 



WAR OF THE REBELLION 91 

and depriving him of his rights. The problem of the moral 
evil of slavery is not here discussed, but the institution existed 
in many of the colonies. 

In the formation of our American Constitution, slavery vv^as 
a perplexing problem that was only solved, for the time being, 
by a mutual agreement to its recognition. The word slave 
was so obnoxious that its substitue, "persons held to service or 
labor." was employed in the wording of that instrument. From 
that early compromise measure, up to the beginning of the civil 
war, slavery was a constant source of irritation and contention 
between the slave holding and non-slave holding states of the 
American Union. The former, through the cohesive power of 
capital, had grown in power and influence. At the inception 
of the war, three hundred thousand slave holders consitituted 
an oligarchy so powerful that they had control of all the depart- 
ments of government and these arrogantly contended that as 
slaves were property, by terms of the Constitution, they had 
the right to take and hold them as such wherever they chose to 
go in the American Union. The moral sentiment of the North 
protested against this assumption, and would not consent that 
there should be one foot of slave territory beyond what the old 
thirteen states held at the formation of the Union. 

Kansas, free territory, became the battle ground between 
freedom and slavery. It was here that the opposing forces 
met. It was here that the war of ideas was fought to a finish, 
and the attempt to establish slavery upon free soil by force, 
fraud and intimidation, came to naught. The people, ulti- 
mately, in an orderly election, settled the controversy for all 
time. During what is known as the "Kansas War," the ex- 
citement of the entire country was at fever heat. The pulpit 
and the press, north and south, entered the controversy with 
vigor and determination. The publication of Harper's "Im- 
pending Crisis" and Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle 
Tom's Cabin;" the unequivocal utterances of William H. 



92 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

Seward in the "Irrepressible Conflict;" the brutal assault upon 
Sumner in the United States Senate; the John Brown raid upon 
Harper's Ferry, and the utterance of Abraham Lincoln that the 
country could not permanently exist "half slave and half free," 
were some of the great events that occupied the public mind. 

The state of South Carolina seceded and led a revolt against 
the Union, hereby leading to the establishment of a rival gov- 
ernment. Once before, during the administration of President 
Jackson, South Carolina attempted to annul the laws of the 
United States — an act of disunion and against the letter and 
spirit of the Constitution. President Jackson, in unambiguous 
terms, summed up his objections to this act of "nullification," 
and coerced obedience to National authority. He said, "I 
consider the power to annul a law of the United States, as- 
sumed by one state, incompatible with the existance of the 
Union, contradicted expressly by the letter of the Constitution, 
unauthorized by its spirit, inconsistent with every principle on 
which it was founded, and destructive of the great object for 
which it was formed. To say that any state may, at pleasure, 
secede from the Union, is to say that the United States is not 
a nation, because it would be a solecism to contend that any part 
of a nation might dissolve its connection with the other parts, 
to their injury or ruin, without committing any offense. The 
right to make treaties, and to exercise judicial and legislative 
powers, are all functions of sovereign power," and, after stating 
that the Union was brought into being by mutual sacrifice of 
interests and opinions and that it was formed for the benefit of 
all, he concludes with an eloquent tribute to the people of South 
Carolina, in words of warning and entreaty that will live for- 
ever: 

"Contemplate the condition of that country of which you 
still form an important part; consider its government, uniting in 
one bond of common interest and general protection. So many 
different states, giving to all their inhabitants the proud title of 



WAR OF THE REBELLION 93 

American Citizens, protecting their commerce, securing their 
literature, their arts, facilitating their inter-communication, de- 
fending their frontiers and making their name respected in the 
remotest parts of the earth. Consider the extent of its territory, 
its increasing and happy population, its advance in the arts which 
render life agreeable, and the sciences which elevate the mind. 
See education spreading the light of religion, humanity and gen- 
eral information into every college in this wide extent of our 
territories and states. Behold it as the asylum where the 
wretched and the oppressed find a refuge and support; look on 
this picture of happiness and say, 'We, too, are citizens of 
America. Carolina is one of these proud states ; her arms have 
defended, her best blood has cemented this happy Union,' and 
then add, if you can, without horror and remorse, 'This picture 
of peace and prosperity we will deface ; this free intercourse we 
will interrupt ; these fertile fields we will deluge with blood ; the 
protection of that glorious flag we renounce. The very name 
of America we discard, and for what mistake?' Men! For 
what do you throw away these inestimable blessings? For 
what do you exchange your share in the advantages and honor 
of the Union? For the dream of a separate existence, a dream 
interrupted by bloody conflict with your neighbors and a vile 
dependence on foreign power." 

The people of the North generally held that the Government 
was something more than a contract to be made and violated 
without general consent, and something more than a "League," 
as claimed by Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy. 
Lincoln held that all the power confided to him would be used 
to "hold, occupy and possess the property and places belonging 
to the Government." This, he declared in his first inaugural 
address to Congress, would be his single purpose ; distinctly dis- 
claiming any intention of interfering, directly or indirectly, with 
the institution of slavery in the states where it existed; that he 



94 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

had no lawful right nor inclination to do so ; and that the proper- 
ty, peace and security of no section would be endangered by the 
incoming administration. And, like his distinguished predeces- 
sor, Andrew Jackson, he made an earnest and pathetic plea to 
those who contemplated the destruction of the Nation, with all 
its memories, benefits and hopes. He implored them to "think 
calmly and well" before committing such wickedness and folly. 

Words of warning and entreaty, by patriotic statesmen in 
Congress and through the press were inadequate to prevent the 
irreparable harm to State and Nation, and all such appeals fell 
upon deaf ears. A reign of tyranny had been established in 
South Carolina and could not be overthrown except by resort 
to arms, as the sequel showed. Her attempt to be freed from 
what she counted vexatious restraints had long been contem- 
plated, but threats of disunion were considered by the great 
body of the people of the North so absurd as to receive but slight 
attention — yet one state after another followed her lead in 
seceding from the Union, justifying their acts upon the theory 
so completely exploded by Jackson, Webster and many others, 
that the states were "sovereign," and could retire at will. They 
repudiated the authority of Congress or any other national au- 
thority that should contravene their sovereign will. 

Reasonable and unreasonable concessions were made them. 
The peace conference, composed of representatives of all the 
northern states, was held at Washington upon the unanimous 
invitation of the Legislature of Virginia, and met there a month 
prior to the inauguration of Mr. Lincoln. Thirteen free states 
were represented (James Harlan was representative for Iowa) 
for the adjustment of the difficulties between the states, to the 
end that harmony might be restored and the Union preserved. 
Amendments to the Constitution were proposed and various 
projects were discussed by that able body of men, but it all 
availed nothing. Humiliating concessions were made, but to 
no purpose. There was undisguised exultation among the 



WAR OF THE REBELLION 95 

secessionists upon the arrival of news that South Carolina had 
passed a secession ordinance. 

The event vs^as hailed with instant and general exultation by 
the friends of disunion throughout the entire slave-holding 
states. There were parades, celebrations, music, cannon firing, 
and speeches. Celebrations were h^ld in New Orleans, Mo- 
bile, and Memphis — where Senator Andrew Johnson was 
burned in effigy. At places where secessionists were few, like 
Wilmington, Dela., the event was honored by one hundred 
guns. When it was announced in the lower house, three or 
four southern members clapped their hands. Their orators 
were full of the joyous anticipations of success for their cause 
and the success of a confederation of states with slavery as the 
chief corner stone of its superstructure. 

Thoughtful, liberty-loving people were amazed at such a 
departure from the fundamental theory of the Republic. The 
thought seemed too absurd to be entertained. In the progress 
of events, the time had arrived when no heed was given to the 
discussion of abstract governmental principles. 

The blow had fallen. Fort Sumpter had been fired upon, 
and self preservation, that first law of nature, asserted itself. 
A task herculean in its nature, and requiring bravery, self sacri- 
fice and determination, confronted the Nation, which was ill 
prepared to meet a resourceful foe, strongly entrenched by well 
planned preparation. 

The defensive fortifications located within the seceded 
states were "thirty in number, mounting over three thousand 
guns, and having cost at least twenty million dollars." These 
were nearly all in the hands of the Confederates before Mr. 
Lincoln became President, his immediate predecessor, Buchan- 
an, having sanctioned the transfer of much of this property to 
the South. Fortress Monroe, Va., Fort Sumpter, S. C, Fort 
Pickings, Fla,, and the fortresses at Key West, were in the 
possession of the National Government. The insurgents had 



96 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

full possession of the government property in North Carolina 
and the costly and extensive Navy Yard at Pensacola. The 
South held w^ithin its borders the government arms, munitions, 
trains, arsenals, provisions, the Southern revenue cutters, mints, 
custom houses, and sub-treasuries, (over half a million of dol- 
lars in gold having been seized at Nevv^ Orleans alone). It 
may safely be estimated that the Rebellion had possession, 
itself, of thirty millions' worth of Federal property before Mr. 
Buchanan left the White House. This was increased to forty 
millions by the seizure of Harper's Ferry arsenal and Norfolk 
Navy Yard, with its ships of war and two thousand cannon, 
before a single blow was struck on the side of the Union. 

Added to this was the fact that for many years no public 
opposition to the "peculiar institutions" of the South had been 
permitted. The journals, religious organizations, and the po- 
litical parties, were alike subservient to the slave power. The 
patronage of the Government, throughout the slave states, had 
been bestowed upon the adherents of Buchanan's administra- 
tion, making a cohesive, arrogant and defiant power, which in 
legislatures and conventions unanimously resolved against ex- 
clusion of slavery from the territories. The governors of the 
Southern States were heart and soul in this conspiracy. The 
Confederates were united. They had a positive creed, a 
definite purpose, and were thoroughly in earnest. Their ad- 
herents and sympathizers were the aristocrats, Tories — the 
"hereditary masters and chief priests of the old world," and 
the downfall of the Republic would have been hailed by them 
with delight. The Confederate armies could be filled with 
the poor whites, using the labor of the slaves to feed and clothe 
them; there was a fair prospect that the maritime powers of 
Europe would need their staple crop, cotton, and would speed- 
ily recognize the independence of the Confederacy. 

The loyal North, though appalled in the presence of these 
difficulties, heroically determined to defend the Union. The 



WAR OF THE REBELLION 97 

heart of the loyal millions, obeying the patriotic impulse, sur- 
mounted every obstacle, and those who survived the conflict 
w^ere permitted to see the symbol of national authority and 
pow^er wave in triumph, accepted and beloved by a free and 
reunited people. It was, indeed, "the new birth of freedom." 
This inestimable blessing is due to "the valor of our soldiers, 
the constancy of our ruling statesmen, the patriotic faith and 
courage of those citizens who, within a period of three years, 
loaned more than two billion of dollars to their Government, 
when it seemed to many just tottering on the brink of ruin" — 
yet more than all else to the favor and blessing of Almighty 
God. 

Horace Greeley, in his "American Conflict," (Page 759, 
Vol. II) states that the whole number of men from time to 
time called into the National service during the war was 
2,688,523; that it is probable that not more than 1,500,000 
effectively participated in surpressing the Rebellion. Of this 
number, 56,000 fell dead on the field, 35,000 more are re- 
corded as dying of wounds in hospitals, while 184,000 per- 
ished there by disease, and enough died after discharge, from 
causes traceable to the service, to make an aggregate loss by 
the war of 300,000. Mr. Greeley estimates that the total 
subtraction from the productive forces of our country, north 
and south, and reached the stupendous aggregate of one million 
men. It was a conflict unparalleled in the history of civilization. 
The Sanitary Commission and the Christian Commission dis- 
bursed about $5,000,000 in cash and $9,000,000 in supplies, 
and Mr. Greeley says it would be quite within the truth to 
estimate the aggregate of free will offerings in aid of the Na- 
tional cause at $500,000,000, or equal to one hundred dollars 
for each family inhabiting the loyal states of the Union. 

In the gigantic struggle for National Supremacy, the state 
of Iowa was among the foremost, if not the foremost. She did 
not falter nor hesitate to engage in the trying ordeal that awaited 



98 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

her and the Nation. The first call of President Lincoln was for 
75,000 troops, April 15th, 1861, "to maintain the honor, in- 
tegrity and existence of our National Union," and the perpet- 
uity of popular government. 

In this crisis, the state was fortunate in having a governor 
who was equal to the demands of the occasion; a leader and 
organizer without a peer — Samuel J. Kirkwood, a grand man, 
commanding the confidence of the people ; independent, honest, 
fearless and fully aroused to the importance and magnitude of 
the struggle upon which the Nation was entering. Party lines 
were forgotten and the people were actuated by a common 
patriotic purpose. 

Iowa, the first free state of the Missouri Compromise, had 
already made a lecord of loyalty by an act of the General 
Assembly as early as 1 85 1 , and by joint resolution declared 
that the state of Iowa was "bound to maintain the Union of 
these states by all the means in her power." The same year 
she furnished a block of marble for the Washington Monument 
at the National Capitol, by order of the General Assembly, 
with this inscription, "Iowa — her affections, like the rivers of 
her borders, flow to an inseparable Union." 

The time was fully ripe when these declarations were to be 
put to a practical test. Our citizens were not only ready and 
willing, but eager to respond, and within thirty days after the 
President's call for troops, the first Iowa regiment was mustered 
into the service of the United States and a second regiment was 
in camp awaiting orders. A special session of the Legislature 
was convened on the 15th day of May and every resource of 
man and means was duly pledged to the National cause. A 
loan of $800,000.00 was authorized to meet the new emerg- 
ency. Two additional regiments were raised and were eager 
to go to the front. In the month of May, one hundred and 
seventy companies had been tendered the Government. The 
first regiment and a part of the second were fitted out with such 



WAR OF THE REBELLION 99 

clothing as could be obtained in the state, donated by individ- 
uals — mostly loyal women. A citizen of McGregor, Iowa, 
offered to provide clothing for three regiments, taking pay there- 
for in State Bonds at par. He ordered the goods from Boston, 
Mass., and they were delivered at Keokuk, Iowa, in exactly one 
month from the time he entered into the contract with the 
State. Unfortunately, the color of the uniforms was gray. 
Iowa was not alone in this respect, however, as other loyal 
states had selected this color before an official color was adopted. 
Henceforth, blue was the color of distinction and honor. 

A conservative estimate of the number of men in the state 
liable to render military service, was 1 50,000. From this 
number there were formed thirty-nine regiments of infantry, 
nine regiments of cavalry, and four companies of artillery, com- 
posed of "three year" men; one regiment composed of "three 
months" men, and four regiments and one battallion of infantry 
composed of "one hundred day" men. In no instance was 
Iowa, as a whole, found to be indebted to the general Govern- 
ment for men, on settlement of her quota accounts. Draft was 
enforced where sub-districts failed to respond to the call of 
the general Government for troops. As a state, Iowa did more 
than was required. Three regiments of infantry — the 1 7th, 
18th and 37th — and four regiments of cavalry — the 6th, 7th, 
8th and 9th — were enrolled, not to meet the call, but volun- 
tarily, as they were in excess of all demands that could be law- 
fully made. 

The original enlistments in these various organizations, in- 
cluding 1,727 men raised by draft, numbered a little more than 
69,000. The re-enlistments, including upwards of 7,000 vet- 
erans, numbered nearly 8,000 men. The enlistments in the 
Regular Army and Navy, and organizations of other states, 
will, if added, raise the total to upward of 80,000. In 1 862, 
under the authority of the General Assembly, the Northern and 
Southern Brigades Vvere organized; the one for the protection 



100 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

of the northwest part of the state from the invasion of dissatis- 
fied Indians, and the other against Guerilla bands along the 
entire southern border — a necessary precaution, the expense 
being borne by the state during the two years of their existence. 
The state contributed a large number of men and many officers 
to regiments in Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Illinois, Wisconsin 
and Minnesota, and out of 2,000 arms-bearing colored citizens, 
v\^as raised nearly a whole regiment. There were a number of 
Iowa citizens in the Regular Army and in the different staff 
departm.ents of the Volunteer Army in different states. 

The people of Montgomery County were fully alive to the 
issue involved. They realized that if the principle of secession 
should establish itself, they, with all other lowans, would be 
isolated, and the principal artery of commerce, the Mississippi 
River, v/ould be severed and fall into the hands of a foreign 
power ; that confusion and anarchy would exist among contend- 
ing petty sovereignties; that without a constitution and without 
courts to settle their disputes, the sword would be their only 
arbitrator. The county was sparsely settled, one township not 
having one man liable to military duty and several others not 
enough for a corporal's guard. Despite this fact, Montgomery 
County had a larger per cent of enlistments in the Union Army 
than any other county in the State, although it could not furnish 
a full company. Two of its volunteers had the distinction of 
being commissioned officers. One of these was Charles B. 
George, of Villisca, now a resident of Beaver City, Neb., who 
was Captain of Company F, Twenty-third Regiment of Iowa 
Infantry. This regiment was engaged at Vicksburg, Port Gib- 
son, Black River, Champion Hills, Mill's River Bend and Fort 
Blakely, and was mustered out in Texas in July 1865. Its 
Colonel was William Dewey of Fremont County, Iowa, and 
W. H. Kinsman of Council Bluffs, Iowa, was its Lieutenant 
Colonel. The other commissioned ofiicer of the county was 
David Ellison, who was made Lieutenant of Company E, 



WAR OF THE REBELLION 101 

Sixth Iowa Cavalry. About twenty men from different parts 
of the county became members of his company. The regiment 
including this company operated with Gen. Sully's command, 
going up the Missouri River as far as Fort Pierre and marching 
west as far as the Yellowstone. It had an engagem.ent and 
severely punished a band of hostile Indians at White Stone Hil! 
(Ta-kaek-ootah). Mr. Ellison served on the staff of Gen. 
Sully as Quartermaster, Adjutant, Judge Advocate and Ordi- 
nance Officer. While in command of his company, he was 
ordered up the Platte River as far as Julesburg, one hundred 
and fifty miles east of Denver. The regiment was mustered 
out of service at Fort Leavenworth late in the spring of 1865. 
Mr. Ellison did not return to the county to practice his profes- 
sion, law, Kansas City, Mo., presenting a more attractive field 
than Frankfort, situated in a wilderness of prairie. 

The Adjutant General's report of enlistment (see report) 
shows that they were represented in companies raised in ad- 
joining counties and in other states. It is quite impossible to 
give an adequate account of the battles, sieges and marches 
participated in by those who were never permitted to join their 
families and witness the victories of peace. Daniel C. Powell, 
a courteous and accomplished gentleman, former Clerk of the 
District Court, fills a patriot's grave. James Rogers, a teacher, 
was slain on the plains of Dakota, his body pierced with Indian 
arrows. The young son of C. A. Gordon was killed in the 
taking of Arkansas Post; James Bond fell at the battle of Black 
River Bridge, and Milton Bond at Chattanooga. Leonard 
Lott, a brother of H. S. Lott of Villisca, was swept from a 
Government Transport in the Gulf of Mexico and drowned. 
The histories of the 4th and 20th regiments of Iowa Volunteer 
Infantry, containing many of the young men of Montgomery 
County, is found in the Adjutant General's Report, which, 
however, is meager and leaves unrecorded deeds of sacrifice 



102 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

and heroism worthy of greater consideration than is here given. 
They were brave men and true patriots: 

SOUTHERN BORDER BRIGADE— FOURTH 
BATTALLION— COMPANY C. 

Conner Waldo, private, Oct. 15, 1862. 
Dunn, James, Sciola, private, Oct. 15, 1862. 
Dunn, Robert, Sciola, private, Oct. 15, 1862. 
Edenfield, Samuel, Ross Grove, private, Oct. 1 5, 1 862. 
Goble, Greenbury B., Sciola, private, Oct. 15, 1862. 
Gourley, John, Sciola, private, Oct. 15, 1862. 
Gourley, Henry, Sciola, Oct. 15, 1862. 
Noble, Benj. F., Sciola, private, Oct. 15, 1862. 
Patterson, Jonathan T., Sciola, private, Oct. 15, 1862. 
Sager, Chauncy, Sciola, private, Oct. 15, 1862. 
Sager, Absalom M., Sciola, private, Oct. 15, 1862. 
Stewart, Andrew J., Sciola, private, Oct. 15, 1862. 
Taylor, Andrew C, Sciola, private, Oct. 15, 1862. 
Thomason, Wm. H., Sciola, private, Oct. 15, 1862. 
Whitney, Hiran , Sciola, private, Oct. 15, 1862. 
Whitney, James, Sciola, private, Oct. 15, 1862. 
Yerger, John, Sciola, private, Oct. 15, 1862. 

FOURTH IOWA INFANTRY VOLUNTEERS- 
COMPANY H. 

Brewer, Jasper N., private, Ross Grove, August 15, 1861 ; 
died Dec. 8, 1861, of fever at Rolla, Miss. 

Darwin, Joseph Z., private, Ross Grove, August 15, 1861. 

Ellis, Jesse W., private, Ross Grove, August 15, 1861. 

Fraks, Abisha, private, Frankfort, August 15, 1861; dis- 
charged Oct. 16, 1862, by reason of wounds received at Pea 
Ridge. 

Forsyth, Nelson M., private, Ross Grove, August 15, 1861 ; 
discharged Nov. 22, 1862. 



WAR OF THE REBELLION 103 

McMillen, H. G., private, Ross Grove, August 15, 1861. 

Ross, George, Montgomery County, private, July 25, 1861. 

Wilson, David, Montgomery County, private, July 25, 
1861 ; died of consumption Dec. 4, 1862. 

Smith, George W., Montgomery County, private, July 25, 
1861. 

Archer, Patrick, Montgomery County, private, July 25, 
1 86 1 ; killed at Vicksburg. 

Archer, John, private, Montgomery County, August 25, 
1861. 

Coon, Wm. J., private, Montgomery County, August 25, 
1861. 

Levv^is, Bailey, Red Oak, assistant surgeon. Fourth Iowa 
Infantry; resigned March 15, 1863. 

COMPANY K. 
Chenoweth, Wm., private. Red Oak, August 12, 1861. 
Chenoweth, Richard, private. Red Oak, August 27, 1861. 
Cook, H. W., private, Frankfort, August 15, 1861. 

ADDITIONAL ENLISTMENTS— COMPANY 

UNKNOWN. 
Lane, Thomas D., private. Red Oak, April 18, 1864. 
McMillen, Thos. A., private, Frankfort, April 18, 1864. 
Wilson, William, private, Frankfort, April 11,1 864. 
Powell, Daniel, private, Frankfort, February 18, 1864. 

FIFTH IOWA INFANTRY VOLUNTEERS. 

Flood, J. H., private. Red Oak, February 23, 1864; com- 
pany not known. 

Gilmore, Geo. W., private. Red Oak, March 26, 1864; 
company not known. 

NINTH INFANTRY VOLUNTEERS— DRAFTED. 
Maloney, Wm. H., private. Red Oak, November 5, 1864, 
for one year; company not known. 



104 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

THIRTEENTH INFANTRY VOLUNTEERS. 
Shore, James, private, Jackson Township, November 5, 
1864, for one year; company not known. 

FIFTEENTH IOWA INFANTRY VOLUNTEERS- 
COMPANY F. 

Hovey, George A., private, Frankfort, November 18, 1861, 
transferred to Seventeenth regiment, March 1 , 1 862. 

Stennett, Charles, private, Frankfort, November 18, 1 86 1 ; 
discharged for disability March 1, 1862. 

Morris, Thomas J., private, Frankfort, January 19, 1862. 

Morris, Neal, private, Frankfort, January 19, 1862; died of 
diarrhoea at St. Louis, May 1 7, 1 862. 

Sieford, Wm., private, Frankfort, January 19, 1862; wound- 
ed in head at Shiloh. 

COMPANY D, FIFTEENTH INFANTRY. 
William Redmon, Douglas Township, February 16, 1864; 
mustered out for re-enlistment. 

TWENTY-THIRD IOWA INFANTRY- 
COMPANY F. 

Davis, Job, Jackson township, private, February 21, 1864. 

Thompson, Levi, Frankfort Township, private, February 
26, 1864. 

Thayer, William F, Ross Grove, enlisted October 6, 1 862 ; 
promoted to fourth corporal. 

Benson, Milton, Ross Grove, private, enlisted August 2, 
1862. 

Jack, William H., Red Oak, October 6, 1862; from private 
to eighth corporal October 6, 1 862. 

Beasley, Isham, Sciola, private, August 19, 1862. 

Brown, Albert, Ross Grove, private, August 19, 1862. 

Franks, Wm., Red Oak, private, August 29, 1862. 



WAR OF THE REBELLION 105 

George, Chas. G., Ross Grove, captain, September 19, 
1861. 

Davis, Elihu, Ross Grove, fourth sergeant, August 29, 1 862. 
Harding, Thomas A., Red Oak, private, August 29, 1862. 
Lane, James R., Red Oak, private, August 29, 1862. 
Lott, Leonard, Sciola, private, August 29, 1862. 
Martin, Preston, private. Red Oak, August 29, 1862. 
Meyerhoff, John H., Ross Grove, private, August 29, 1862. 
Moritz, Peter M., Sciola, private, A.ugust 29, 1862. 
Morris, John M., Ross Grove, private, August 29, 1862. 
Patterson, John L., Sciola, private, August 29, 1862. 
Patterson, Milton W., private, August 29, 1862. 
Proutz, Austin, Red Oak, private, August 29, 1 862. 
Russell, Thomas, Sciola, private, August 29, 1 862. 
Thomason, Geo. W., Sciola, private, August 29, 1862. 

COMPANY I, TWENTY-THIRD INFANTRY. 

James, St. Claire, Montgomery County, private, August 1 2, 

1862. 

Bond, James W., Frankfort, private, August 28, 1862. 

Terry, Wm. R., Frankfort, private, July 27, 1862. 

Hindman, Stephen B., Red Oak, private, November 12, 
1862. 

Miller, Hugh T., Red Oak, private, November 12, 1862. 

Ross, Joseph M., Red Oak, private, August 12, 1862. 

TWENTY-NINTH IOWA INFANTRY- 
COMPANY D. 

Bond, Ellis, Frankfort, private, February 25, 1864. 

Burris, Henry H., Red Oak, private, February 9, 1864; 
died of rubeala. May 10, 1864, at Little Rock. 

Sager, James H., Washington Township, private, February 
8, 1864. 

Sager, Absalom M., Washington Township, private, Feb- 
ruary 8, 1864. 



106 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

Wilson, Jasper, Washington Township, private, February 
3, 1864. 

Wickhom, Marion, Washington Township, private, Feb- 
ruary 3, 1864. 

FIFTH IOWA VETERAN CAVALRY— CO. B. 
Bellows, Henry H., West Township, private. May 10, 
1864. 

Dunbaugh, Edward, West Township, private. May 10, 

1864. 

COMPANY C. 

Crandall, Theran W., Red Oak, private, February 1, 1864. 

SIXTH IOWA CAVALRY— COMPANY E. 

Ellison, David, Frankfort, second lieutenant, January 3 1 , 
1863. 

Rogers, James N., Frankfort, quarter-master sergeant, No- 
vember 1 4, 1 862 ; killed by Indians. 

Binogar, John, Frankfort, private, November 14, 1862. 

Dodd, John, Frankfort, private, November 14, 1862. 

Evans, John, Frankfort, private, November 14, 1862. 

Hobson, John T., Frankfort, private, November 14, 1862. 

McKeever, Solomon, Frankfort, private, November 14, 
1862. 

Prather, Manliff C, Frankfort, private, November 14, 1862. 

Stanton, John M., Frankfort, private, December 17, 1862. 

Terry, James W., Frankfort, private, January 5, 1863. 

White, James L., Frankfort, private, October 18, 1862. 

Strait, Henry J., Frankfort, private; rejected, weak lungs. 

Coon, H. M., Frankfort private; rejected, weak lungs. 

EIGHTH IOWA CAVALRY— COMPANY A. 
Chenoworth, Peter S., Red Oak, private, July 31,1 863. 
Weidman, Daniel W., Red Oak, private, July 31, 1863. 



WAR OF THE REBELLION 107 

MONTGOMERY LIGHT HORSE. 

Patterson, Jonathan T., Red Oak, captain, March 20, 1863. 

FIRST NEBRASKA CAVALRY— COMPANY F. 

Sharr, George, Red Oak, private, third corporal, promoted 
to second sergeant, veteranized January 1 , 1 864. 

Bolt, Ira W., Frankfort, private, January 24, 1861 ; re-en- 
listed November 18, 1863. 

Campbell, Samuel M., Frankfort, January 24, 1861; dis- 
charged June 20, 1 863. 

COMPANY F. 

Lyons, William, Red Oak, private, June 24, 1 86 1 ; trans- 
ferred to Company I, 8th low^a Infantry, October 14, 1861. 

Mooney, W. H., Red Oak, private, June 24, 1861 ; vet- 
eranized January 1 , 1 864. 

Robins, John C, Red Oak, private, June 24, 1861; de- 
serted August 4, 1862. 

Slutts, Joshua, Red Oak, private, June 24, 1 86 1 ; veter- 
anized January 1, 1864. 

Porter, Luther D., Red Oak, private, October 25, 1864. 

Watson, Cyrus H., Red Oak, private, August 1, 1864. 

Frank, William H., Red Oak, private, July 1, 1864. 

TWENTY-FIFTH MISSOURI INFANTRY— CO. K. 
Overman, Joseph, Montgomery County, private, February 
20, 1862; discharged for disability at Keokuk, January 28, 
1863. 

SEVENTY-THIRD ILLINOIS INFANTRY. 
Juber, Jasper J., Red Oak, private, August 21, 1862. 

ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTH PENNSYLVANIA 
VOLUNTEER INFANTRY— COMPANY F. 
Focht, Jacob, private. Pilot Grove Tow^nship, September 
12, 1861 ; mustered out September 10, 1864 at Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania. 



CHAPTER XIII 



THREE PROMINENT PIONEERS. 
Alfred Hebard, Justus Clark and R. M. G. Patterson were 
three citizens of Montgomery County who deserve more than 
passing notice from the historian. All of them were members 
of territorial and early state legislatures and were factors in 
laying the broad and enduring foundation upon which was 
erected the magnificent structure of our state. They were men 
of strong mental and moral fibre, and in accord with the spirit 
of intelligence and progress of the Iowa pioneers. 

ALFRED HEBARD. 

Mr. Hebard served as a member of the 3d, 4th and 6th 
territorial legislatures, in the years of 1840, 1841 and 1843, 
participating in the proceedings of those memorable sessions. 
While not conspicious as a debater, he was among the most 
mfluential members, and was regarded by his associates as a 
man of sound judgment. His residence of twenty-eight years 
in Montgomery County impressed his strong and commanding 
personality upon all. He was a magnificent specimen of the 
dignified and perfectly bred man — a true gentleman of the old 
school. He was a prominent figure in society and in the state 
legislative halls, where he served as Senator from the Mills- 
Montgomery District for eight consecutive years. He also 
represented the state as a United States Commissioner to the 
World's Fair at Paris in 1889 and also at the International 
Congress held at Stockholm, Sweden. 

He was true to the laws of his physical and intellectual 
nature. No bad habits he had, to undermine his strength or to 
shatter his nerves. His conduct was as ideal and as true as the 



THREE PROMINENT PIONEERS 109 

lines traced by his unerring compass over the prairie. Thus was 
his vital machinery enabled to run smoothly and evenly for 
eighty-six years — a long, noble and complete life. His morals 
w^ere inflexible. Of marked value was his contribution to the 
social, material and intellectual interests of Red Oak and 
Montgomery County. For years, as chairman of the School 
Board, he took an especial interest in everything pertaining to 
the efficiency of our schools. His last public appearance was 
m an able and interesting address at the celebration of the 
quarterly centennial of our graded schools. He dwelt with 
special pleasure and delight upon the educational progress of 
the city. We owe him a debt of gratitude for the part taken 
by him in a wise and practical way, to promote this all im- 
portant interest. 

No greater honor can be enjoyed by anyone than to be one 
of the founders of a great state; to assist in bringing the rude 
and primitive fragments — the raw material of a state — into 
symmetrical form. Mr. Hebard's name is intimately associated 
with those of our pioneer governors. Chambers, Lucas, Briggs 
and Grimes, and he knew such men as Hall, Mason, Darwin 
and Parvin. He was on the staff of one of the territorial 
governors; hence his title with which we are familiar — "Col." 
Hebard. 

What an influx of young men came into Iowa in the '50s, 
some of whom became leaders in state, national and interna- 
tional affairs. They were not of the feeble order of mind or 
body, but were of granite strength and texture. Mr. Hebard 
was the peer of such contemporaries as Dodge, Curtis, Grinnell, 
Kirkwood and Allison. He was content to live in comparative 
obscurity after acquiring by just and honorable methods the 
competence that relieved him from anxiety and care in his 
declining years. Many with whom he had business dealings 
recall acts of kindness and forbearance in times of financial 
embarassment and perplexity. The young readers of this not 



110 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

undeserved eulogy can scarcely realize the obstacles to be met 
and overcome by the young civil engineer, entrusted w^ith the 
vv^ork of finding a path for the iron horse. The state v/as then 
a trackless prairie and the earlj'^ civil engineer, running lines, 
taking levels, crossing streams, under scorching suns and in 
frequent storms, was sheltered at night, if at all, under the 
canvas covered w^agon. When the party of railroad surveyors, 
of v^^hom Mr. Hebard vv^as chief, reached the valley of the east 
Nishna, vv^here they camped for the night, they beheld a land- 
scape of unusual beauty, vv^ith a stream flow^ing through it. 
"Here will be a depot," said Col. Hebard, and his faith was 
so great that with David Remick and others in 1857, they 
purchased the land and surveyed and platted the town of Red 
Oak Junction, with the thought that the railroad yould be 
located where Railroad Street (now Washington Avenue) ran 
through the town. The headquarters of the surveying party 
were at a station kept by Joe Zuber near the present Catholic 
Cemetery north of Red Oak. During that year, Mr. Hebard 
crossed the state four times with his own conveyance. He 
marked the route that now binds together the two great rivers 
bordering the state. So painstaking and accurate was his work 
that of the three surveys made, his was the one selected, and 
few deviations were made from it. Many were the trials 
which this young man had to bear. Scraping a sustenance 
from the bare rocks of New England; teaching school in New 
Jersey; gathering together a few boys in the town of New 
London, Conn., and instructing them in the rudiments of edu- 
cation; preparing for college and finally graduating with honor 
fiom the oldest and most noted American college — Yale. In 
the class room, he was associated with Cassius M. Clay, Sen- 
ator Copperton of West Virginia and others who later gained 
national reputation. Exuberant with hope, he sought a fortune 
in Iowa — the then far west. He obtained land, erected a log 
cabin, and with his young wife established a cultured and 



THREE PROMINENT PIONEERS 1 1 1 

happy home, where they dwelt for fifteen years, enduring the 
privations of pioneer life, rounding up a period of twent}'^ years 
from the date of his graduation from college. 

After many years of quiet retirement in his Red Oak home, 
Mr. Hebard died, Sept. 26, 1896, while absent on a visit to 
his old home near New London, Conn. There his remains lie 
buried, A public memorial service was held in the Red Oak 
Congregational Church, at which tributes to his character were 
paid by Judge Deemer and others. 

In every station, in life, private or public, whether as hus- 
band, father, student, teacher, farmer, engineer or legislator, 
he exhibited qualities that dignify and adorn human nature. 
"His life was gentle and the elements 
So mixed in him, that Nature might stand up 
And say to all the world, "This was a man." 

JUSTUS CLARK. 
Justus Clark was a man of somewhat similar history who 
came to Montgomery County eight years subsequent to the time 
of Col. Hebard's arrival. Both men had been residents of 
Burlington, Vt., and vicinity, and at different times followed 
the same occupation as farmers, railroad men and legislators. 
They combined the characteristics of pioneer and Yankee. 
Mr. Clark's boyhood days were spent in Windom and Critten- 
den counties, Vermont. When a lad of sixteen years of age, 
he left the home of his father, an old historic place, once oc- 
cupied by Gov. Crittenden before the Revolution, and found 
employment as a dry goods clerk in Burlington, v/here he was 
entrusted with responsible duties. The spirit of adventure took 
possession of him and the great west had attractions which 
could not be resisted. The undiscovered possibilities of that 
region appealed to the young men of fifty or sixty years ago 
with irresistible force. They became path-finders in the wilder- 
ness but recently penetrated by v^^hite men. By a slow, cir- 



112 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

cuitous route, young Clark transferred his home from Burling- 
ton, Vt., to Burlington, Iowa, where he arrived in the spring 
of 1839. In his mature manhood, when he had gained a 
competency in this world's goods, and had arisen to positions 
of honor and usefulness in that city and in the state, he dwelt 
with pleasure and pride upon his achievements. On one 
occasion, in company with the writer, he pointed out a little 
old brick building in Burlington, saying, "I worked for the 
man who owned that house for the first meal of victuals par- 
taken by me in Iowa." He soon found employment and re- 
mained there for four or five years. Then he opened up a 
farm in Pleasant Grove Township, Des Moines County, where 
he lived twenty-five years. He was an enterprising, public 
spirited citizen, and promoted the growth and development of 
his country. He was called upon to serve his community in 
minor offices; was a member of the board of county supervisors 
and for six consecutive years in the first years of the state's 
existence, he was one of its legislators. He was a member 
when the sessions of 1 85 1 and 1 852 were held in the old 
Capitol building in Iowa City, of those held in Des Moines 
in 1858 and 1860, and of the special session in 1861. He 
was in the employ of the B. & M. R. R. Co., securing the 
right of way and continuing similar service three years for the 
Burlington and Southwestern Railway. In subsequent years, 
he devoted much of his attention to stock-raising and shipping. 
He owned an extensive ranch in New Mexico and was familiar 
by travel with the stock-raising industry in the great ranges 
of the west. He was also an extensive dealer in lumber, and 
was the first president of the Red Oak National Bank. In 
1850 he made a trip from his home in eastern Iowa, with an 
ox-team, to California. He returned the next year by the way 
of the Isthmus of Panama, and travelled on foot the route now 
selected for the great international water-way, the Panama 
Canal. He was a close observer of men and events and visited 





ANDREW M. POWELL— Born July 25, Hancock 
county, Indiana. Came to county in October, 
1855. 



SAMUEL M. SMITH— Born in New York, 1S26. 
Founder of Grant in 1S56 and has resided 
there since. An energetic business man and 
veteran of the war with Mexico. 





HENRY BARNES, Sr.— One of the founders of the 
Vermont colony, known as the Yankee Settle- 
ment. Now postmaster at Elliott. 



JOHN M. BOLT — One of the first settlers in 
Washington township. A veteran of the war 
with Mexico. 




*hT 




JASON B. PACKARD. 



COL. ALFRED HEBARD, Deceased— Born in 

Connecticut, May 10, ISIO. 



, ^^ 




\ vM. 




.^I^N^||M|k^ 




"^r \ T 


^ 


■% m-f X3l 






HON. JUSTUS CLARK, Deceased. 



JUDGE L. W. TUBBS, Deceased—A large land 
holder in this county. Founder of Emerson, 
near the western border of county. 



THREE PROMINENT PIONEERS 113 

Europe to study the industrial conditions in England and on 
the Continent. He died in Los Angeles in 1895, and his 
body now rests in the Red Oak Cemetery. 

R. M. G. PATTERSON. 

Another man who contributed toward creating the political 
division known as the State of Iowa, was R. M. G. Patterson. 
He was one of the early settlers, locating in the valley of the 
Nodaway in 1853. Mr. Hebard and Mr. Clark were not 
pioneers in its strictest sense; they came upon the scene later. 
At another time and place they had been of the true guild and 
had borne all the hardships of the struggle to subdue the prairie 
and the wilderness, and to make them subservient to the use 
of man. When they appeared in the county, they found many 
things made ready for them, crude and unattractive, but of real 
value in the inventory of things. They were better clothed, 
and better fed and had adopted the manners of polite society. 
They brought with them carriages, books, furniture, paintings, 
silverware and table linen for their dwellings. These things 
were in marked contrast to the earlier time when there was not 
a carriage nor a fashionable suit of clothes in the county and 
when gourds were used for drinking cups, goods-boxes for 
tables, stools for chairs, and jack-knives to carve the food. 
They were the vanguard of the immigration which soon fol- 
lowed. 

Mr. Patterson lived several years at Keokuk, Iowa, coming 
there soon after he emigrated from Ohio in 1 839, where he ar- 
rived, poor and destitute, having lost all of his goods when 
that ill-fated steamer, the "William Glasgow," was burned be- 
low Cape Girardeau, Missouri. He built a log cabin and 
lived at peace with the Indians who frequently came to his 
residence and greeted him with the usual friendly "How." Of 
his family, one daughter became the wife of the late Alvin 
Fulton of Keokuk, who was deputy United States Marshall 



1 14 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

under D. B. Miller of Red Oak. Another daughter is the 
widow of the late James Dunn of this county. He was the 
father of John W., and Jonathan T. Patterson, once prominent 
citizens of Montgomery County. The elder Patterson is an 
mteresting reminiscence, as he was one of the few left who 
formed the link between a generation long past and the present, 
having served in the war of 1812 under General Cass. His 
recollections of the early days at Keokuk were of historical 
value. He was one of the proprietors of Arlington, in which 
he put much faith that it would be a station on the line of 
the railroad, but of which nothing now remains. He now 
sleeps in the cemetery near that obsolete town, having died 
in April, 1854. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



JASON B. PACKARD. 

It would be impossible to write an accurate history of the 
earlier days of Montgomery County, without giving Jason B. 
Packard a conspicuous place. His life was interwoven with 
the financial, educational, political and social affairs of the com- 
munity. He came to Frankfort early in the history of that 
metropolis. His varied experience in professional and business 
life in Michigan, then a comparatively new state, qualified him 
for service among the Iowa pioneers. He utilized his experi- 
ence for the common good, and, when the occasion demanded, 
would quote precedents and established rules to justify the 
end he sought. 

He served the county as its treasurer ten years. During that 
time there had been no provision made for the safe keeping of 
money or valuable papers ; consequently, Mr. Packard used the 
commodious pockets of his coat and vest as a safe depository 
for such public money and papers as he might have occasion 
to use from day to day. The office and officer were inseper- 
able and public business was transacted wherever and whenever 
it was most convenient to do so. During the early years while 
he held the office of County Treasurer, valuable papers and 
property were often placed in a tin box and buried, and when 
some important document was needed, it was resurrected from 
its place of interment. Obstacles he met and overcame always 
in a cheerful spirit. Measured by present standards and con- 
veniences, his methods were crude and unbusinesslike, yet the 
county suffered no loss, nor impaired credit, and all of the time 
its warrants were at par. 



1 16 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

People unacquainted with him, who judged him by his 
outward demeanor or the cut of his clothes, and who could not 
see the man beneath his rustic garb, called him eccentric. 
Count Tolstoi detracted nothing from his real manhood by be- 
mg clothed like a Russian peasant, and this reformer was re- 
garded by Mr. Packard as the latter day prophet of the race. 
In fact, these men were not dissimilar. The trend of their 
thought was along similar lines; the difference between them 
was only in degree. Both were born with a great dislike of 
the current customs, habits, laws and conventions of their time, 
believing that many of these were a hindrance rather than a 
help to progress. 

Mr. Packard was a great admirer of Henry D. Thoreau and 
sympathized with him in his effort to live the simple life. He 
especially endorsed the utterance, "As I preferred some things 
to others, and especially valued my freedom, as I could fare 
hard and yet succeed well, I did not wish to spend my time in 
earning rich carpets or fine furniture or delicate cookery or 
houses in the Grecian or Gothic style. If there are any to 
whom it is no interruption to acquire these things and who 
know how to use them when acquired, I relinquish to them 
the pursuit." 

Mr. Packard had notions of his own in regard to building, 
and insisted that the ordinarj'^ houses were constructed more 
for show than for comfort. This certainly did not apply to 
the log cabin in Frankfort, where he dwelt for a short time. 
He put his theory into practice and built his house on an 
original plan. He first excavated about twenty feet square on 
his land, sloping east toward the Tarkio, then placed oak 
boards one inch in thickness perpendicularly around for the 
outside wall. These boards were held in place by nailing 
them to pieces extending around the top on the inside, and a 
roof of boards was placed thereon, the eaves of the roof being 
near the ground on the upper side. The building consisted of 



JASON B. PACKARD 1 1 7 

two rooms, one above the other. The only windows were on 
the east side of the lower room; entrance was by door on the 
south side. A furnace for heating the building was so made 
as to conduct heat underneath the floor through a shallow 
trench covered with sheet iron. In after years, he built on 
his farm near the old Watson Mill, north of Stennett, a stone 
house in the form of an octagon, the sides and angles being 
equal. The floor was of stone. The upper floor was sus- 
pended by wires stretched across from side to side, a space of 
about one foot being left at the outer edge of the floor to per- 
mit the heat to ascend to the upper room from a fireplace built 
into the wall. The house is still standing. 

Mr. Packard did not ask advice nor concern himself with 
the opinions or criticisms of others, and, like Walt Whitman, 
**heeded neither experience, cautions, majorities, nor ridicule." 
The greater part of the time that Mr. Packard held public 
office was spent in the house first described. It was here that 
this genial, hospitable, kind-hearted man lived — honored and 
respected by all. It was here, in the loving companionship 
of his wife, Cornelia, a refined, educated and accomplished 
woman, that they read and discussed the best literary pro- 
ductions of the world. They practiced economy that they 
might enjoy the exalted pleasure of the company of such auth- 
ors as Goethe, Carlyle, Swedenborg and Emerson. Mr. Pack- 
ard read, thought and wrote. For years he was the only 
newspaper correspondent living in the county. He contri- 
buted articles regularly to the Corning Sentinel. An article 
from his pen which appeared in the Burlington Hawkeye at- 
tracted much attention at the time. It referred to the cele- 
brated debate on slavery between the two intellectual giants, 
Lincoln and Douglas, in Illinois in 1858. Historical events 
were thickening. John Brown's martyrdom had occurred a 
year before and the presidential election was near at hand. 
The events in progress were of greatest interest. Mr. Packard 



1 18 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

mailed the "Hawkeye" article to Lincoln with the remark 
"that it might be of some assistance to his friend, Stephen A. 
Douglas, in getting up his article on "Squatter Sovereignty," 
which he was then publishing in Harper's Magazine. An 
acknowledgment was received in Mr. Lincoln's hand-writing, 
which was highly prized by its recipient, and which is pub- 
lished fac simile in this volume. The orginal letter is now the 
property of Mr. Packard's son. 

Following is given in full the article which engaged the at- 
tention of the great Emancipator. It was published in the 
Burlington Hawkeye in 1859 and re-printed in the Omaha 
World Herald in 1893. 

"Does our government hold any national territory or domain 
for settlement of convicts? 

"This question crops out in many shapes, and has been dis- 
figured so by politicians, as hardly to be recognized among the 
questions of the day. There is much said about territorial 
settlement, and perhaps much that is intended to bear upon it 
that does not touch the point, which observation may also 
apply to the remarks here introduced. In the settlement of 
lands the initiatory steps are various. Under some govern- 
ments there are lands settled by convicts who are transported 
to those particular lands set apart for them. In other countries, 
such as ours, a portion of the population leave their state volun- 
tarily, on account of over-population or other causes, and make 
homes on new land and invite others to join them in their set- 
tlement. 

"A considerable portion of the population of some of the 
southern states are blacks, who are treated as a convict popula- 
tion, and are in charge of keepers. These keepers assume that 
they can transport them to new states and territories and settle 
them there, where another nest of these convicts can be pro- 
duced without transportation, as their children are all convicts 
also. 



JASON B. PACKARD 119 

"We do not wish to settle in a land with black convicts 
sentenced for life. We object, and have the general reason of 
mankind in our favor, although these keepers think we are ever 
so unreasonable because we will prevent them from bringing 
their crew to settle in the same neighborhood with us. We do 
not stop to inquire the crime of these convicts. It is enough 
for us that their keepers know. 

"Our general government has appropriated no territory for 
the settlement of convicts, and holds no territory for that pur- 
pose ; has no Siberia or Botany Bay. The territories of Botany 
Bay and Siberia were each set apart by their respective gov- 
ernments for the settlement of English and Russian convicts. 
Our own government would protest against the English or 
Russian governments sending convicts into our territories, as it 
will against South Carolina or Alabama, or the emperor of 
Guinea doing the same thing ; and should either of these powers 
insist upon forcing such settlement, and disregard the protest, 
it would be pronounced a hostility. Our fertile territories are 
valuable and can be settled without any such aid as forced 
emigration into them. There are some things that will be 
reversed in the course of a year, and one of these things is the 
charge upon our countrymen of being "negro worshippers." 
Instead of this, we will be accused of excluding negroes from 
our new states and territories, and be charged perhaps, with 
being negro destroyers because we will not let them on the best 
lands of our country. We would recommend their keepers 
to let them recultivate the old lands they have worn down, but 
we could only recommend it; we have nothing to do about it. 

"But they insist on settling national territory with their con- 
vict population. 

"They charge us with being a disunion party. That charge 
will be reversed also. J. B. P. 

"Frankfort, Montgomery County, Iowa, October 20, 1 859." 



120 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

Following is Mr. Lincoln's reply, written in his familiar hand 
on a sheet of common note paper: 

"Springfield, 111., Nov. 20, 1859.— (J. B. Packard, Esq.) 
— Dear Sir : Yours of the 1 I th with the article on territory 
for convicts is received. It presents a new idea, and I shall 
consider it. I fear you will not get Douglas to avail himself 
of your assistance. At all events your skirts are clear. Yours 
truly. A. LINCOLN." 

Mr. Packard was an investigator, and often left the beaten 
track in seach of untried things. He thought it possible that 
there might be things of value near at hand. Fuel being scarce 
and an absolute necessity, anything that gave a hint of a sup- 
ply attracted his attention. Having observed places in ravines 
and in sloughs where smouldermg fires would continue for weeks 
at a time, he reasoned that such places must contain vegetable 
matter similar to the peat bogs of Ireland and of Hancock 
County in this state. Acting on this theory, he cut out with a 
spade a quantity of this material and piled it up to dry, but the 
wet weather soon disintegrated it. That heap of dirt on the 
east side of Tarkio was an object of wonder to passersby. The 
principal difficulty in his experiment in the preparaton of peat 
for fuel, was to get the brick firm enough to withstand the 
weather. In pursuing his investigations in another locality, an 
amusing incident may be mentioned. It came to his knowl- 
edge that a certain person whose name he did not remember 
was burning peat for fuel. He sought an interview with him 
and, nearing the place, inquired of an Irish woman for the place 
"where they burned peat." "Great Heavens!" she cried in 
amazement, "They haven't burned Pete, have they?" On 
the bank of a small ravine near his residence, he discovered the 
out crop of a layer of red clay that upon investigation proved 
to be a good article of paint. He pulverized several tons of 
this material with a rudely constructed mill — something like 
the feed grinders now used by the farmers — and placed it on 



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VtT-Rj 



LETTER FROM ABRAHAM LINCOLN TO J. B. I'ACKARD. — Photo in corner placed there by Mr. Packard's son. 



JASON B. PACKARD 121 

sale at Des Moines, Omaha and Kansas City. This enterprise 
failed for want of capital and a lack of experience in placing 
such a commodity on the market. 

In his declining years, Mr. Packard emphasized his preceding 
peculiarities by providing his last resting place in the Red Oak 
Cemetery and marking it with a rough native boulder and 
mounds in rude imitation of natural scenery. His grave lies in 
the shadow of a native white oak tree. Upon the boulder is 
chiseled an incomplete epitah, partly in Latin. Enough can 
be deciphered to show that he had a good hope of immortality. 
The inscription runs that "once upon a time a man lived upon 
the earth" — here the writing and figures are indistinct, but 
enough can be seen to show that the number of years was 
given — "in a world of enchantment," but "enchantment has 
given place to reality;" adding, "now my fortune is made." 
This thought had been at one time elaborated upon in an ex- 
haustive address by Mr. Packard before the court and the bar 
of which he was chairman, upon the death of Judge J. W. 
Hewitt, his neighbor and friend. 

So passed Jason B. Packard, an eccentric man but a scholar 
and gentleman. His memory is deservedly revered by all 
who knew him. 



CHAPTER XV. 



EARLY LIFE IN "THE FORKS." 

History naturally divides itself into two classes — written or 
authentic and unwritten or legendary. The early history of 
the older nations was purely legendary, as at that time man had 
neither the ability nor the means for making records ; and, neces- 
sarily, he had to depend upon memory for preserving the facts, 
and upon tradition for passing them on to succeeding genera- 
tions. While this is not true of modern times, yet there is much 
in the history of every community that must be recorded in 
memory, if retained at all, as it is considered of too little im- 
portance to form a part of the written history of its day, al- 
though it proves to be of no little interest to the people of a 
later period. 

The people of every community have a certain interest in 
the events and conditions that influenced the early growth of 
their town or city and in the domestic and social life of the 
early settlers, and as such material seldom forms a part of their 
records, they must depend upon memory or tradition for this 
information. In order that such facts may be reliable, they 
should come, so far as possible, from someone closely associated 
with the period of which he writes, and not from a source so 
far removed in time that much has been lost in transmission from 
generation to generation. And so this chapter of reminiscence 
is presented to the reader, with the hope that it may afford 
some interest to the people of today and tomorrow, and recall 
to the minds of such of the early settlers as still linger about 
the place, some of the events, pleasures and hardships of pioneer 
days in and around "The Forks." 



EARLY LIFE IN "THE FORKS" 123 

In the early days of Montgomery County, when the little 
city of Villisca was only a promise on paper and a dream of 
the future, a little colony had started between the Middle and 
West Nodaways, which was known for miles around as "The 
Forks," a name given it on account of its location near the 
junction of the two streams and as a designation from other 
neighborhoods such as "Ross Grove," "The Valley," "The 
Ridge," "Hungry Hollow," etc., names that have long since 
become practically obsolete. Colonization in this locality be- 
gan early in the fifties and its progress was slow indeed until 
the coming of that period when the railroad, the harbinger of 
development, came in across the "Lime Kiln Ford," and 
brought with it new enterprise and a new people, and destroyed 
many of the old landmarks and customs of its earliest days. 
This chapter deals with the history, the social and domestic 
life, and the growth and development of this little community 
for the decade just prior to the incoming of the railroad — the 
decade from 1859 to 1869. Most of the people living in the 
community at that time had come via the "Prairie Schooner" 
line from Highland County, Ohio. 

In June of 1859, a little company of people, attracted from 
their homes in Ohio by the glowing accounts of the new coun- 
try in southwestern Iowa, arrived on the bank of the Nodaway, 
just south of where Villisca now stands. They unhitched 
their horses from the wagon, turned them loose to graze on 
the prairie, crossed the "river" on the big drift that for many 
years served as the connecting link between Ross Grove and 
The Forks, followed a foot path through the woods and hazel 
brush, and came out into a bit of open country that had just 
been selected for a new town. The Burlington & Missouri 
River Railroad Company had contemplated a line through 
the state and had sent its agent, D. N. Smith, ahead to locate 
the townsites, one of which was located between the Nodaways 
and named Villisca. The log cabin built by George West, the 



124 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

original owner of the townsite, and a little frame house built 
by a man named Scott, were the only residences in the town, 
and they were occupied at that time by the families of Ander- 
son Moore and Aaron Penwell. There was a small frame 
building north of the square, used at that time for a store build- 
mg, in which Thomas Moore kept a small supply of such 
merchandise as the few settlers must necessarily have and for 
which they could raise funds to purchase. 

These three buildings were all that constituted the town 
of Villisca at that time except the red stakes that marked the 
corners of the lots and that had just been driven for that pur- 
pose. They were painted red as the result of a misinterpreta- 
tion of the letter of instructions to the men who were to make 
the stakes. The letter stated that they should be "nicely 
pointed," but it was read, "nicely painted," so the town stakes 
were all treated to a coat of bright red paint, which made them 
look rather conspicuous in contrast to the green of summer and 
the white of winter, during the many years they did duty as 
sentinels on guard. This was the first time that the town 
was literally "painted red," but, as many of the older inhab- 
itants will remember, is was not the last, figuratively speaking. 
"Uncle Jimmy" Carlisle, "Aunt Marilla" Lightbody — the old 
people were uncle or aunt to everybody then — Anderson 
Moore, Ed Moore, Sr., Thomas Moore and their families, 
constituted the population of "The Forks" at that time, but 
there were other settlements down the Nodaway toward Clar- 
inda, over on East River, and up the West Nodaway. The 
Wests, Dunns, Gourleys, Meanses and Bakers were among 
the earliest settlers. Villisca — in one particular, at least — was 
like Rome: It was not built in a day. Red stakes did not 
make a town and the promises on paper were slow in realization. 

The great Civil War came on, and the "Western Fever" 
abated for a time. The young men of the Nation put on the 
blue uniform, shouldered the musket, and went to Dixie to 



EARLY UFE IN "THE FORKS" 125 

defend the Nation's honor instead of seeking homes in the 
West, so the broad acres of Nodaway prairie and the corner 
lots of Villisca were doomed to a period of waiting for pur- 
chasers. An occasional prairie schooner drifted in on its west- 
ern voyage, finding a safe harbor in some bend of the Nod- 
away, where it anchored and added one more family to the 
population. In the spring of 1861, Elijah Overman, Elizabeth 
Davis and Charles G. George, with their families, became a 
part of the society of The Forks and vicinity. 

In the fall and winter of 1861-2, a steam sawmill was brought 
overland from Chariton, Iowa, and located in the southern part 
of Villisca. This marked a new era in the development of 
the country, and board fences and frame houses and bams 
began to appear. The old watermill on the Middle Nodaway, 
known from its successive owners first as the McMillen Mill 
and later as the Van Horn Mill, had been in operation for 
some time, but its old "up-and-down" saw was exceedingly 
slow as compared with the "chip-chip-chip" of the engine and 
the "z-e-e-e" of the bright circular saw, as it cut rapidly through 
the logs which were brought from miles around to be con- 
verted into boards, and we thought that we had made a remark- 
able stride in the progress and growth of a new country. Cot- 
tonwood, elm and linden were the principal kinds of timber 
used in those days, and many of the older farm houses still 
standing in the country are the monuments of this old mill. 
E. A. Munn, the man who brought the mill from Chariton, 
and who was its first architect, did not live to see it in operation. 
He was among the first to hear the call of "Old Abe" for 
help to save the nation ; he went out in Company F, 23 rd Iowa 
Infantry, and never returned. He sleeps in a grave in Dixie. 
A Mr. Taten bought the mill, put it into operation, and man- 
aged it for several years. It changed hands frequently, but 
continued to do duty until the pine lumber brought in by the 



126 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

railroad took the place of the native lumber, when the old mill 
was obliged to "move on" and has long since disappeared. 

The close of the year 1865 found Villisca containing two 
stores, a blacksmith shop, a doctor, and four or five dwellings. 
Philip Spargur, known as "Uncle Doc," had built a shop near 
the southwest corner of the square, where for several years he 
had a monopoly on shoeing horses, sharpening plows, and mak- 
ing linch pins for the farmers. Dr. Huntsman was located at 
the southwest corner of the square, with residence and office 
combined, and was ready at all times to set broken bones or 
to prescribe quinine for the "fever and ager," the principal 
and fashionable diseases of the time. Morgan Thurman had 
a general store at the southeast corner of the square, and John 
Swingle kept drugs and groceries at the northwest corner. At 
about this time or a little later, Jasper Wallace engaged in the 
business of making shingles from native timber and had a mill 
in operation. It was run by a one horse power, but made re- 
markable speed as compared with the old drawing knife. In 
the spring of 1867, the railroad surveyors came through the 
county, locating the line and setting grade stakes. This pro- 
duced great excitement and people begin to think that the time 
for which they had waited so long was near at hand. Immigra- 
tion began at once and every few days saw some new building 
erected or some new business enterprise started. The work 
of grading the line and laying the track proceeded as rapidly 
as possible and in the fall of 1869, Villisca was no longer a 
dream, but a reality; trains were passing through the town; 
the click of the telegraph was music to the older settlers, and 
strangers had ceased to be a curiosity. 

We have reached the time limit of this chapter and must 
now return to the main purpose — the recollections of the life 
and society of those days. As we view the condition of the 
country today, and contrast it with that of its pioneer days, we 
marvel at the changes that can take place in a few years when 



EARLY LIFE IN "THE FORKS" 127 

the enterprise of man is assisted by the energies of Nature. 
Most of the actors of the early days of this community have 
gone to their rest, but their children's children and the newer 
generations will find some interest in the story. 

Coming from a wooded country, the people who first settled 
along the Nodaway naturally dreaded the prairie, and, re- 
quiring the logs for their houses, settled along the streams. 
Here they built log cabins and began breaking the prairie bor- 
dering on the timber and transforming it into farms. Their 
homes at first were of a very rude and uncomfortable kind, 
with clapboard roof and floor of hewn instead of sawed lumber. 

A chimney comer broad and wide, 

A latch string hanging clear outside. 

The rifle and powder horn over the door. 

The old hound lying upon the floor 

To chase the wolves away; 

An ox yoke leaning against the shed. 

The pumpkin drying overhead. 

The spinning wheel, a reel and loom. 

Were what you'd see in every home 

Along the Nodaway. 
At first the farms were fenced with rails or poles cut from 
the woods along the streams, as lumber was scarce and barbed 
wire had not yet been thought of, and the stock grazed at will 
on the prairie during the summer months, as herd laws were 
not made until a much later period. Ox teams were considered 
a necessity in breaking the prairie sod, three or four yoke being 
considered a good team for the ordinary prairie plow. The 
sod was broken in the month of June and allowed to lie and 
rot until the next spring, when it was sown with spring wheat 
and considered duly subdued and in good condition for a 
crop of corn the next year. 

The great distance from the markets and the high prices of 
merchandise, due to war times, made it necessary for the 



128 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

pioneer to rely upon his resources for the necessaries of life and 
to dispense with the luxuries. The little flock of sheep was 
necessary for clothing, and the hum of the spinning wheel, the 
crack of the reel, and the clang of the loom, gave the promise 
of warm mittens and stockings for all, jeans for the men cmd 
boys, linsey or flannel for the women and girls, and blzinkets 
for the beds. 

"Twas not what you'd call a stylish affair. 

Carried out by the strict rules of late etiquette. 
For the Goddess of Fashion, now queen everywhere. 

Had not made her throne on the Nodaway yet. 
But the boys in their jeans of a "Pusley Blue," 

Or a brown from the bark of the black walnut tree, 
And the girls in their "Linsey Woolseys" new 

Were the dudes and the belles of the corn husking bee." 

The sheep were sheared in the spring of the year; the wool 
was washed, the burrs picked out and it was ready for carding. 
This meant a trip of several miles to some carding mill or fac- 
tory, where the wool was worked up into little rolls ready for 
spinning. There was a woolen mill at Clarinda and one sev- 
eral miles up the Middle Nodaway. The music of the spin- 
ning wheel was not so classical or harmonious as that of the 
piano, but its necessity made it the music of every household, 
and the young lady who could spin her ' twelve cuts" in a day 
was considered an expert. A "cut" consisted of sixty rounds 
of the reel, which was announced when it was done by a loud 
"crack" made by some internal attachment, and the reel so 
constructed was considered quite an improved machine for that 
day, as the operator did not have to count the threads. Next 
came the weaving, which was done by hand, a long and tedious 
process, two yards being a good day's work. 

Another necessity to the home was the sorghum patch and 
the cane mill. In most cases, the mill was a very rude affair, 
consisting of two large wooden rollers for pressing out the juice, 



EARLY LIFE IN "THE FORKS" 129 

and large pans for boiling it clown to molasses. The mill was 
turned by one horse, which went round and round a long 
sweep to which it was hitched, and whenever the mill was in 
operation, the announcement was always made by a very loud 
creaking noise. 

A patch of sorghum and the old cane mill 
That during its season never was still. 
I can hear the noise it used to make, 
Enough from their sleep the dead to wake 
On the Judgment Day. 
A patch of tobacco for winter's use — 
The "Lincoln Twist," so void of juice. 
For "Horseshoe Plug" or "Battle Ax" 
Were not yet subject to a tax 
Along the Nodaway. 
The molasses-making period was to the young people of 
The Forks what sugar-making time was to New England boys 
and girls, a period of hard work but many pleasures. The 
cane had to be stripped of its blades, beheaded, and carried 
away to the mill; hard work indeed, but then there were days 
of "boiling down" and the "taffy pullings," with their fun 
and frolics. 

Tea and coffee were scarce and so high in price that they 
were out of the question. Parched corn, rye or burnt bread 
and molasses, furnished a substitute for coffe, and the leaves of 
the Red Root, so common on the prairies, were used in place 
of tea. All fruit came from Nature's own orchard and vine- 
yard. Wild plums grew in abundance along the stream; crab 
apples, wild grapes, strawberries, gooseberries, etc., could be 
obtained in their season and were often preserved in various 
ways for winter use. 

The principal source of income for the Nodawa pioneer was 
the hog, as it was about the only thing which he could market. 
Hogs were expected to make their own living during the sum- 



1 30 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

mer time by foraging through the woods and living on roots 
and nuts, but as soon as the new corn had passed the "roasting 
ear," they were gathered together and fattened for the market, 
or for meat for the family use. The hogs for the market were 
driven to St. Joseph, Mo., the nearest railroad station for sev- 
eral years. All the farmers of the neighborhood combined 
their little herds into one large drove and as soon as the weather 
was cool enough, started on their trip to market. For several 
days they trudged along on foot, eight or ten miles a day, en- 
countering muddy roads or snow drifts, sleeping on the ground 
on pleasant nights or seeking refuge in some cabin in cold 
weather. They usually took with them one or two teams and 
wagons with which to haul the hogs that gave out along the 
way, and to furnish a conveyance for the return trip. With 
all these hardships, the trip to "St. Jo" was considered one of 
the pleasures of life in "The Forks," as it gave the men an 
opportunity to see something of the outside world, provided a 
kind of picnic of several days' duration, and enabled them to 
procure the necessities and some of the little luxuries of life 
for the families. The home-coming was also a happy event 
to the family. There were shoes for the children, a calico 
or delaine dress for the wife, a bit of ribbon for the sister, and 
some trinket for the sweetheart. Even the clouds of pioneer 
days had a silver lining. 

During these years. Uncle Sam did not forget his children 
in the wilderness, but sent his messenger once a week to Ross 
Grove, and delivered to them the news a week old and the 
letters from home that had been on the road for weeks. But 
they were living at a slow pace at that time and were glad for 
even old news. In the spring of 1 86 1 , he brought the news 
of a great struggle between the North and the South. The 
Nation was threatened, the South was about to lose one of its 
time honored institutions, slavery, and a bitter war was being 
waged. On political questions the people of "The Forks" 



EARLY LIFE IN "THE FORKS" 131 

were not a unit. The predominating element were in sympathy 
with the South. The name, "Copperhead," was applied to 
and accepted by many of the old settlers, who retaliated by 
applying such terms as "Black Abolitionist," "Nigger Lover," 
etc., to their opposing neighbors. As children usually reflect 
the sentiments and characteristics of their parents, it was not 
an uncommon thing to hear them singing such songs as this: 

"Jeff Davis rides a white horse, 

Lincoln rides a mule, 

Jeff Davis is a wise man, 

Lincoln is a fool." 
Or resorting to such convincing pro-slavery arguments in their 
political discussions, as, "You think a nigger be as good as 
you be, do you?" While the community was divided on 
political lines, and there were times when it seemed that open 
hostilities would be the next resort, happily nothing more ser- 
ious than word battles or an occasional resort to fists was the 
result, and when the call for volunteers was heard echoing 
through the woods and over the hills, patriotic blood began 
to flow through the veins and a hearty response went up from 
"The Forks" and vicinity. Captain C. G. George enlisted 
a company of men from Montgomery, Page, Taylor and 
Adams counties, that went out as Company "F," Twenty- 
third Infantry, and did good service in the Army of the Missis- 
sippi. A farewell dinner was given to the company in the 
ivoods near Ross Grove. Here they bade "goodbye" to the 
boys, saw them load up into farm wagons and start away to 
where they were to be sworn in and drilled, thence to the 
camps and battlefields of the South. Many of these brave 
boys never returned to their homes, but fell victims of disease 
or Rebel bullets. 

The Fourth of July celebrations were generally of a very 
simple character, there being no orators to spread the eagle, no 
bands to discourse music and no fireworks to illuminate the 



1 32 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

night. An occasional barbeque, the reading of the Declaration 
of Independence, and a platform dance, made up the general 
program of our Natal day. Little attention was given to mat- 
ters of religion at the time. 

There was no church, no lodge, no school. 
No religion, save the Golden Rule, 
And often there were times, of course. 
When the Golden Rule was not in force 
Along the Nodaway. 
The Sabbath was generally used for visiting purposes or for 
making excursions to some other neighborhood. There were 
no regular ministers in the immediate locality. Occasionally 
some travelling preacher would come along and hold a meet- 
ing in the grove on Sunday or at the home of someone near, 
at "early candle light." 

Educational matters received but little attention in "The 
Forks," for considerable time, not so much from lack of interest 
as on account of the difficulties that confronted the people. 
Suitable places for schools were not to be obtained, teachers 
were scarce, and the children too poorly equipped to face the 
storms and wade the snow-drifts in the winter, while in sum- 
mer they were needed on the farm. An occasional winter 
term in some unused cabin, where the big boys and girls could 
study the old "blue backed spelling book" and read a little 
from the scanty supply of "McGuffey's Reader," that had been 
brought from former homes; or a summer term at somebody's 
home, where the little ones learned the alphabet — these were 
about all the educational advantages afforded in that day. 
A log school house with clapboard roof 
That kept out sun but was not rain-proof. 
With windows small and an old fireplace 
That froze the back and scorched the face 
On a wintry day 
Rough board seats without any backs 



EARLY LIFE IN "THE FORKS" 133 

A floor that was principally made of cracks, 
A bundle of rods, an old dunce stool. 
Were the common things of the pioneer school 
Along the Nodaway. 
In the summer of 1 859, an attempt was made to start educa- 
cational work, and for a few weeks during good weather a 
school was maintained in a school-house improvised from an 
unused corn crib which stood on the Thomas Moore farm just 
west of town. The teacher was Lydia Ann Lightbody, 
known later as Mrs. Joseph Carlisle, and, so far as memory 
serves us, this was the first school taught in "The Forks." 
Arza Ross taught a few winter terms in some unused cabin 
that could be made to ansv/er the purpose of schoolhouse. In 
the summer of 1862, a man by the name of Nelson — nick- 
named "Shoestring" by some of the people — taught for a few 
months in the old store building previously referred to, at that 
time unused. In the summer of 1866, Mrs. Huntsman, the 
doctor's good wife, instructed the youth of the immediate 
neighborhood at her own home, which she converted into a 
schoolhouse for five or six hours each day. The breakfast 
being over and the housework done, some long boards were car- 
ried in and laid on boxes or blocks of wood to serve for seats, 
and she was ready for the school to assemble. At the ap- 
pointed hour, fifteen or twenty boys and girls from five to fifteen 
years of age, assembled and presented a rather variegated ap- 
pearance in home-spun dresses, bare feet and hats made of 
wheat strav/ braided and sewed at home. At four o'clock, or 
earlier if all had had a chance to "say their lessons," they were 
dismissed, the school furniture removed, and home duties again 
resumed. In the fall of 1866, the first real schoolhouse in the 
town was built and made ready for the winter term. It stood 
on a little knoll just east of the present High School site, sur- 
rounded by hazel brush and sumach. Home-made seats and 
desks were the best that could be afforded, but it contained a 



134 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

real stove. Fuel was furnished by patrons in proportion to the 
number of children belonging to the family, and the teacher. 
Tommy Spargur, boarded around, in the old-fashioned way. 
Spelling was the principal subject taught. They spelled "on 
the book" and "off the book" in the forenoon and in the after- 
noon. All varieties of books to be found in that day were 
used, each pupil having a different kind. If "variety is the 
spice of life," surely they were supplied with spice. Very few 
of the pupils aspired to anything so far advanced as "ciphering," 
and "parsing" was not even considered. They "spoke pieces" 
and "spelled down" every Friday afternoon, and were really 
pleased with the advancement made during the winter. Elihu 
Davis, Asbury Damewood and Sarah Means were among the 
teachers that ruled at later periods in the little frame school- 
house in "The Forks." This house served for school purposes 
until the demands of the district became too great, and the old 
brick, recently torn down, was built to take its place, which, 
in turn, has given place to something more modern. 

This subject would be incomplete without a brief reference, 
at least, to matters purely social. Wherever society is found, 
there must be some kind of amusement. People must have 
something to turn the mind from the realities of life, and to 
afford it some real or imaginary rest. The Nodaway pioneer 
was hospitable to a fault. No home was too small, no supply 
of provisions too scant but that a neighbor or a stranger was 
a welcome guest. People visited each other a great deal, not 
merely to make a short call, but to stay all day and sometimes 
all night. Their talk was not of the prevailing fashions, nor 
the gossip of the neighborhood, but of the prospects of the 
crops, discussions of the political situation, and relating stories 
of the old home back east." The older ladies had their "wool 
pickings" during the summer, where they met to assist some 
neighbor in the irksome task of picking the burrs out of the 
last shearing — thus combining pleasure with profit. The girls 



EARLY LIFE IN "THE FORKS" 1 35 

and young women had their quilting bees on the same plan 
and for the same purpose. 

The men and boys found sport in the shooting match during 
the fall and winter. In the fall they gathered together every 
Saturday afternoon and engaged in a match with rifles at forty 
yards off hand or sixty with a rest. The prize consisted of a 
fat beef divided into five parts — the four quarters and the hide 
and tallow. These matches were always carried on in the best 
spirit, and it very seldom happened that there was any bicker- 
ing or discontent over the proper settlement of the match. 

The corn husking bee during the autumn was a common 
occurrence. On an appointed day, the men and boys, with 
their teams, assembled at the home of some neighbor, and when 
the sun went down, the corn was in the crib and he was a 
happy man. 

When the day was done and the corn in the crib 
And the comfort or quilt was out of the frame. 
When supper was eaten and the "things cleared away," 
The best part of the day's festivities came. 
For every old settler knows very well 
If a Nodaway pioneer is he. 
That as sure as the night always follows the day, 
A dance always followed the corn-husking bee. 
In the winter, the young people found much pleasure in 
the sleigh-rides and spelling schools. On .Friday afternoon, the 
whole school would go to some neighboring school for a spelling 
match. The afternoon would be devoted to visiting the neigh- 
boring school, and speaking pieces, with perhaps some prelim- 
inary matches. Then they were entertained at the various 
homes for supper, after which all the people of the neighbor- 
hood, or all that could get into the little schoolhouse, assembled 
for the final "spell down." Here was where honors were won 
or lost — not physical contests, but real intellectual battles — 
not according to the rules of "diamond" or "gridiron," but ac- 



136 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

cording to the rules of the imniortal Noah Webster. 

But those days are the dreams of the past. They were 
looked upon as pleasures because they were seen through eyes 
of youth, and they left impressions never to be forgotten. But 
with the coming of new people, customs changed. The young 
people were easily converted to new ideas and were soon ab- 
sorbed as a part of the new society, but the older people were 
not so easily changed. To them, this was not acceptable. 
They looked upon all this as an invasion, and the new-comers 
as invaders. It was hard for a people who had been the first 
in the country, and who had, to a great extent, subdued its 
wildness, and laid the foundations of a new community, to be 
supplanted by a new people and new customs. But such is 
fate; the inevitable was in time accepted, and the old civiliza- 
tion of "The Forks" gave way to the new, and Villisca became 
the queen of the land between the Nodaways. 



CHAPTER XVI 



NOTED MURDER TRIALS OF THE COUNTY. 

If all of the murders known to have been committed in Mont- 
gomery County since its early days had been ferreted out and 
the murderers brought to justice, the list would not be an ap- 
palling one. The community has always been law-abiding, 
and even before an organized government was established, the 
high character and law-observing instincts of the pioneers left 
little ground for murderous quarrels. As it is, only one person 
has been indicted, tried, convicted and sentenced for murder 
in the county since its formation. There have been other cases 
vv'hich have been tried here or which have been of such interest 
to the residents of the county as to be worthy of brief mention 
in this history. 

A recent reliable authority states that of all the causes which 
lead to the taking of human life, quarrels rank first and drunk- 
enness next; and it may be added that the latter generally 
causes the former. It was a mixture of the two that lead to 
the death of Robert Lambert in Red Oak, Iowa, at the hands 
of Isaac E. Striker, June 6th, 1876. The trouble arose over 
3 bet on a horse race. Lambert was undoubtedly under the 
influence of liquor and quarrelsome. He openly accused 
Striker of appropriating $10.00 of his money and called him 
names which read better in a court record than they would in 
this book. Striker denied having the money, and, realizing the 
man's condition, was disposed to laugh the matter off. Lam- 
bert then forced matters by clutching Striker by the throat. 
Striker retaliated by kicking Lambert until he had forced him 
off the sidewalk. Lambert picked up his hat, which had 
fallen off during the fight, and remarked that he had had 



138 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

"enough," at the same time calling Striker an opprobrious name. 
Striker said, "I allow no man to call me that name," and struck 
Lambert a couple of times on the head as he was turning 
around. Lambert staggered to the door of Palmer & Whita- 
ker's barn, and, gradually sinking down, he breathed his last 
in a few minutes. If Robert Lambert had not been drunk; 
if his tongue had not been used to obscene language; if Ike 
Striker had not been a man of violence; if, when Harve Milner 
attempted to separate them, Warren Dealing, a bystander, had 
not interfered, saying, "Hold on; let them fight it out;" if 
Striker had stopped when Lambert cried, "Enough;" the crim- 
inal records of the county might have read differently. 

As it was an indictment was filed, drawn by Attorney John 
W. Welpton, and signed and sworn to by C. H. Stennett, 
charging Striker with murder in the first degree. In the indict- 
ment, it is stated with more precision as to the law than to the 
spelling, "That the said defendant, Isaac Striker, did, at the 
town of Red Oak, and in the County of Montgomery and State 
of Iowa, on the 6th day of June, A. D., 1876, wilfully and 
malicously and with malice aforethought, kill and murder one 
Robert Lambert, by beating and striking him, the said Robert 
Lambert, on the head and on and about the body, with his 
fists and kicking him, the said Robert Lambert, in the stomach 
and other parts of the body with the towe and heal of his 
boots. All of which," etc. 

Striker fled the town the night of the murder and many men 
were soon scouring the country in search of him. Just below 
the old Weidman farm, a man on horseback was fired upon by 
one of the searching parties, who mistook him for Striker. 
None of the shots took effect, except that a stray bullet knocked 
out the horse's eye. It was supposed that this man had been 
sent by friends to advise Striker to return to the town and face 
the charge. Striker plead not guilty and a preliminary trial 
was held before H. C. French, Justice of the Peace. The 



NOTED MURDER TRIALS OF THE COUNTY 1 39 

Justice bound the defendant over to await the action of the 
Grand Jury, and fixed his bond at $800.00. The Grand 
Jury returned an indictment Nov. 1 7, 1 876, charging Striker 
with manslaughter. On Jan. 5, 1877, a jury composed of 
the following persons was impanelled to try the case: E. 
Loomis, P. Haymaker, I. W. Graves, R. J. Edmonds, Henry 
Mohler, J. W. Linton, John Overman, D. L. Brockway, D. S. 
Haas, Frank Gleason, George M. Shull and Pearl Crawford. 
This jury returned as its verdict: "We, the jury, find Isaac 
E. Striker guilty of a simple assault." The District Judge, 
Sam Forey, sentenced Striker to pay a fine of $75.00 and the 
costs of the case, assessed at something over $500.00. C. E. 
Richards represented the defendant and Smith McPherson, 
as District Attorney, the State. Isaac Striker at this writing 
i? a resident of Oklahoma and is employed in some capacity 
by the United States government. 



The most brutal murder committed in the county was the 
act of Fred Mewhirter, who, without apparent excuse or justi- 
fication, and without giving the victim the slightest chance for 
his life, killed young Dr. Joseph W. Hatton near the Mewhirter 
home, in the northern part of the county. Dr. Hatton was 
a younger brother of Dr. J. B. Hatton, long a resident of Mont- 
gomery County and now practicing in Des Moines. Fred 
Mewhirter was a farmer about fifty-two years of age. He was 
married and had a family — some of his children being grown- 
up. About a year previous to the murder, Mewhirter had 
called Dr. Hatton to visit his wife. She did not recover as 
quickly as he expected and Mewhirter brought suit in Cass 
County to recover for injuries to the health of his wife, alleging 
unprofessional conduct and malpractice on the part of the 
doctor. 

A study of the trial records reveals the main facts of the 
shooting as follows: Dr. Hatton on the 18th of July, 1875, 



140 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

went to visit a patient living about a mile from Mewhirter's 
place. He was accompanied by his father, a man about sev- 
enty-two years old. Mewhirter, who was at a near neighbor's 
at the time, learned that the doctor was in the vicinity, and at 
once left for his home, cursing Hatton and making threats 
against him. In returning from the visit. Dr. Hatton and his 
father passed near Mewhirter's house. The following from 
the trial records is an exact quotation of the incident of the 
murder as told on the witness stand by the elder Hatton: 
"After we got round the willows, we saw the defendant going 
through the fence, with his gun in his hand, just east of us. He 
might have been eighty or a hundred yards away. He came 
through the fence across the first track of road to second road 
and came in front of us. We were driving on a trot and Me- 
whirter came down the road with his gun, and, as he raised it, 
the doctor said, "Stop." This was all the doctor said when 
gun went off. I don't think it was a second after Mewhirter 
raised the gun until he shot. We had a two stepped buggy 
and my left foot was on the upper step. When the gun went 
off, the doctor fell out over my right thigh and it scared the 
team, which went on. I got out near Mewhirter's gate and 
looked back and saw defendant behind, standing in the path, 
Vvith gun presented like he was going to shoot again. He did 

not, but looked back again and said, "O, , I 

have killed you." 

The shot took effect in the abdomen and the doctor lived 
about two weeks. After the killing, Mewhirter immediately 
saddled two horses and started for Council Bluffs, arriving 
there the next day. During the interval, when Dr. Hatton 
was hovering between life and death, Mewhirter stayed in 
Omaha, usually coming over to Council Bluffs in the evening. 
On ihe day that Hatton died, Mewhirter was arrested on one 
of these nocturnal visits. Judge Reed, of the District Court, 
presided at the preliminary examination, and at its conclusion 



NOTED MURDER TRIALS OF THE COUNTY 141 

announced that he would give his decision at three o'clock that 
afternoon. It was later ascertained that the warrant of com- 
mitment had been issued at the end of the trial and that the 
statement of the judge had been made to prevent lynching, of 
which there had been threats. Great influence was brought to 
bear upon the Grand Jury and for two or three weeks, they re- 
fused to bring in an indictment for murder in the first degree. 
Finally they were persuaded to vote upon the crime, leaving 
out for the moment, the question of the degree. Upon this 
they all voted "murder," but it has never been disputed that 
they differed upon the degree, and that the indictment returned 
did not represent the views of the Grand Jury as a whole. 
Some of the Grand Jurors made affidavits to this effect, but 
the trial judge held that they were not admissible in support of 
a motion to set the indictment aside. In this decision, he was 
later upheld by a decision of the Supreme Court of the State. 
J. F. Mcjunkin, Attorney General, John H. Keatley and C. 
E. Richards, of Red Oak, represented the state, and Montgom- 
ery and Scott of Council Bluffs, the defendant. The defense 
was emotional insanity. 

During the progress of the trial, a carload of people came 
up from Red Oak for the purpose of taking Mewhirter from 
jail, but when assured by Attorney C. E. Richards that there 
would in all probability be a conviction and that any interfer- 
ence at that time would be prejudicial to the interests of the 
prosecution, they returned home. Mewhirter was convicted 
and sentenced to life imprisonment in the State Penitentiary at 
Fort Madison, where he died a few years ago. In justice to 
the memory of Mewhirter, it may be stated that the instructions 
of the trial judge on the question of insanity have been twice 
overruled by the Supreme Court of the state — the last time in 
the case of the State vs. Thiele, and had Mewhirter been tried 
under the law as it now stands in this state today, the result 
might have been different. 



142 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY ' 

On the 24th of September, 1883, at about 6:00 o'clock in 
the evening. Dr. E. B. Cross, taking a loaded revolver w^ith 
him, left his home in Council Bluffs and proceeded rather slowly 
along the street where Dr. A. B. McKune usually walked at 
that hour. He had been compelled to testify before a Grand 
Jury in a criminal case which implicated Dr. McKune, and 
had been told that Dr. McKune was much incensed thereby; 
that he was a powerful, quick-tempered man and that Dr. 
Cross had better prepare himself against an attack from him. 
Whether, as a matter of fact. Dr. Cross had murder in his 
heart as he left his house that evening, will never be known. 
One jury has decided that he did ; one that he did not. Upon 
many grounds, the trial of the first case at Glenwood, Iowa, — 
Judge Loofbourow presiding — was held by the Supreme 
Court to have been irregular and the case was remanded for a 
new trial. Cross had been sentenced to death, and, pending 
the decision of the Supreme Court, was incarcerated in the 
penitentiary at Fort Madison. The prosecution on the first 
trial was conducted by Hon. A. B. Thornell, then District 
Attorney and now one of the judges of the 15th Judicial Dis- 
trict. He was assisted by such able attorneys as D. B. Dailey, 
W. F. Sapp and N. M. Pusey of Council Bluffs, and Judge 
Williams of Glenwood. An equally brilliant array of legal 
talent took care of the interests of the defendant, whose lawyers 
were George F. Wright and John Baldwin of Council Bluffs, 
C. B. Hubbard and N. M. Hubbard of Cedar Rapids, and 
John Y. Stone of Glenwood. 

The second trial of Dr. Cross took place at Red Oak, Iowa ; 
the jury being impanelled June 24th, 1 887, and the trial lasting 
fourteen days. The attorneys in the case were those who took 
part in the Glenwood trial, with the added exception of local 
talent, consisting of C. E. Richards and R. W. Beeson for the 
prosecution; Smith McPherson and J. M. Junkin for the de- 
fense. The facts brought out in the second trial were about 



NOTED MURDER TRIALS OF THE COUNTY 143 

the same as those presented during the trial at Glenwood, al- 
though some new evidence was let in by the Supreme Court 
decision. As has been stated, Dr. Cross and Dr. McKune 
were not friends and it is likely that both were of a quick, ner- 
vous temperament. Cross had undoubtedly made preparations 
for an attack and there was testimony to the effect that he 
intended to provoke a quarrel in which he would shoot Mc- 
Kune. At all events, on the evening referred to, he met Mc- 
Kune, — or, as some witnesses testified, McKune overtook him 
— at the corner of First Ave. and Pearl St. in the city of Coun- 
cil Bluffs, near where now stands the Grand Hotel. Whether 
McKune struck him first, does not appear, although one witness, 
whose testimony should not be taken seriously, states that he 
did. Others who saw the affair state that from four to eight 
blows were struck by both parties, and this statement was 
borne out by the condition of their faces after the fight. Dur- 
ing the trouble. Cross drew a revolver, a 38 caliber, and shot 
McKune in the breast, death ensuing almost immediately. 
Cross was also shot in the hand, and a bruise back of the ear 
was evidence that McKune came at him from behind. To 
offset this is the fact that Cross had previously armed himself. 
McKune was unarmed. To a witness who came running up, 
Cross exclaimed, "The scoundrel attacked me and I shot him 
to protect myself." 

Judge Horace E. Deemer released Cross upon the filing of 
a $20,000.00 bond. The bondsmen were all of Red Oak 
and vicinity, and all of them had been secured against loss in 
the sum of $50,000.00 by the father of Dr. Cross. The names 
of the jurymen who tried the case and who returned a verdict 
of "not guilty," are: Henry Marsden, Thomas Means, Eli 
Roth, G. W. Anderson, Robert Cook, Wm. McCue, Wm. 
Tindall, Joseph Robinson, Charles Quist, Wm. Buss, D. W. 
Seaman, George Mitchell. There is a well authenticated story 
to the effect that days before the trial Cross employed men who 



144 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

might be termed "attorneys of the curb," and whose duty it 
was to talk about the case wherever crowds were discussing it 
in order to create a sentiment in his favor. Whether this had 
anything to do with the outcome of the case, is not known, but 
something must have had influence, as there was, without doubt, 
a feeling in favor of acquittal, Cross made few friends during 
his sojourn in Red Oak. He was irritable and insulting and 
upon one or two occasions, came near having personal en- 
counters with Red Oak citizens. His wife never for a moment 
wavered in her allegiance to him or in her belief in his inno- 
cence. She was constantly by his side and many people of 
Red Oak remember her kind, cheerful face and were impelled, 
sometimes against their better reason, to say a good word for 
Dr. Cross, purely on account of his wife. She did much to 
turn the tide of sentiment in his favor. 



Gustave Thiele killed his wife in Villisca, Iowa, June 16th, 
1 90 1 . He had gone there purposely to do the act and this 
fact alone did much to counteract the claim of insanity. Thiele 
had had trouble with his wife. She had not lived a blameless 
life and this fact preyed upon his mind until his intellect became 
disordered. He claimed that the Bible justified him in taking 
her life, and there can be little doubt that the unfortunate man 
considered it his duty to do so. This is shown by his remarks 
at the time of the killing, when he repeated over and over again 
in the German language that "she must die." Thiele stabbed 
his wife three times, one blow reaching her heart. Death was 
therefore almost instantaneous. Further than screaming, "I am 
killed," the poor wom.an said nothing. The murderer told the 
marshall of Villisca that he had intended to kill himself after 
killing his v/ife, but the crowd, running in, prevented him — or 
rather changed the course of his thoughts. He was quickly 
taken to Stanton overland and thence, on the next train, to Red 
Oak, where he was placed in jail. In a short time, he was 



NOTED MURDER TRIALS OF THE COUNTY 145 

sleeping soundly in his cell. Attorneys coming to interview 
him, awoke him. When asked by Mr. C. E. Richards why 
he killed his wife, he said with much earnestness in broken Ger- 
man, "The book tell me — the book tell me." When asked if 
he loved his wife, he replied with broken sobs and a muttered 
"Yes." He had been hurt by a piece of iron striking his head 
some years before and there was much testimony that this injury 
affected his mind. There was also evidence that his actions, 
previous to the stabbing, were not those of a normal man. He 
had often been heard crying and talking to himself at night, and 
would walk the floor continually. 

Thiele was represented by the law firm of Richards & Rich- 
ards of Red Oak and the prosecution was conducted by F. P. 
Greenlee and R. W. Beeson of the same city. His trial was 
held Dec. 16, 1 90 1 , and continued for nine days when the jury 
returned a verdict of guilty of murder in the first degree, and 
fixed his sentence at life imprisonment. The jury was com- 
posed of the following persons: Edward Good, Alex Peter- 
son, William Perkins, Frank Wolfe, Robert Hensle, William 
King, S. Anderson, William Blackburn, E. C. Milner, J. F. 
Ault, H. E. Jameson and Thomas Smith. 

During his confinement in jail, an incident occurred which 
must have had some effect on the minds of the jury. Thiele's 
son, with the help of outside parties, attempted a jail delivery 
and was only prevented by a United States prisoner's advising 
the sheriff of their operations. For the offense, the son, a lad 
of sixteen years was given a short jail sentence. 

Thiele's case was carried to the Supreme Court and there 
reversed on Judge O. D. Wheeler's instruction as to the degree 
of proof where insanity is urged as a defense. The instructions 
of the trial judge were exactly the same as those given in the 
Mewhirter case, and serve to show the uncertainty of court 
decisions. Fred Mewhirter served a life sentence under an in- 
struction for insanity that gave Gustave Thiele another trial. 



146 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

The case was sent back for trial, but the witnesses being scat- 
tered and the residence of some of them unknown, a plea of 
guilty of murder in the second degree was accepted, and Thiele 
is now in Fort Madison awaiting death or pardon to release 
him. That Thiele was more or less insane, there can be no 
doubt. When informed that his case was reversed and a new 
trial ordered, he immediately wrote his attorney, P. W. Rich- 
ards, that he need not subpoena witnesses, as the District Court 
had no jurisdiction. His was a case, he reasoned, that in- 
volved an international question, and could only be tried before 
the Hague Tribunal. 



So ends the record of murder cases in which the people of 
Montgomery County are most interested, and which resulted in 
jury trials — with the exception of the Millslagle case, tried in 
Clarinda in 1860. Andrew J. Millslagle killed John Stipe, 
one of the leaders of a mob, who attempted to drive Millslagle 
and a woman named Wilson from the country. Both were 
residents of the north-eastern portion of the county, in what is 
now known as Douglas Township. The affair occurred in 
1856, and is especially to be regretted for two reasons: it was 
the first mob that ever assembled within the county and the first 
murder ever committed within the county. A man named 
Abram Clark was wounded in the hand at the time, and Mill- 
slagle was shot through the ear. Millslagle was indicted for 
murder in the first degree and found guilty of murder in the 
second degree. He served a sentence of twelve years in the 
penitentiary at Fort Madison and his case cost the county over 
a thousand dollars. 



CHAPTER XVII. 



COMMON SCHOOLS OF THE COUNTY. 

Iowa's educational methods and influences place her in the 
first rank. One state alone — Massachusetts — shows a higher 
percentage of attendance of children in the public schools. 
67.2 per cent of the total number of children between the ages 
of five and nine years, and 91 per cent of those between the 
ages of six and ten years, attended school last year (1904). 
One-fifth of the population of the United States — a number 
equal to the total population of Spain — attends the public 
schools, and, according to the report of the Commissioner of Ed- 
ucation, June 30th, 1904, this cost $251,000,000.00 for the 
year. Of this vast number enrolled in the public schools, Iowa 
has 565,000 pupils, or nearly 88 per cent of her. people of the 
proper school age. For their education there has been provided 
nearly 14,000 school buildings at a cost of almost $ 1 9,000,000.- 
00 and a force of 30,000 teachers. That there is no wish to 
economize is shown by the fact that last year's expense exceeded 
by a large amount, those of any preceding year. 

Passing from Iowa to one of its sub-divisions, Montgomery 
County, we find a very creditable showing. Pupils in attend- 
ance in the public schools of the county number 5,318 — 2,730 
males and 2,588 females — presided over by 165 teachers, of 
whom 140 are women. We have one teacher for every 32 
pupils — the average in the state being one for every 21 pupils. 
There are 1 03 rural and 1 city school buildings in the county. 
Only 1 5 boys and 1 6 girls from seven to fourteen years of age, 
failed to attend school last year (1904). 

The amount paid out in the county from September, 1 903, to 
September, 1904, was as follows: Teachers' salaries, $55,- 



148 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

319.76; contingent expenses, $19,778.55; general supplies, 
$1,194.25; other expenses, $1,957.17; making a grand total 
of $78,249.73. 

A schoolhouse is located upon the corner of every four sec- 
tions (or four square miles), making nine of them in each of the 
twelve townships in the county. Besides these, the ten city 
school buildings, with their instructors and facilities, afford to 
the youth of the county the opportunity for at least an academic 
education. 

In our formative period as a county, the first act of the 
pioneers, after providing shelter for their families, was to build 
a schoolhouse and start a school. These schoolhouses were 
constructed like the dwellings of the settlers — usually of logs. 
A fireplace at one end served for heating the single room. The 
desks were arranged with rough boards extending around the 
sides of the room and across the end opposite the fireplace, and 
were supported by wooden pieces fastened to the logs. The 
seats were made of heavy slabs, sawed or split from logs, 
through which holes were bored with a two inch auger to re- 
ceive the supporting legs. The benches were all the same 
height from the floor, affording no resting place for the feet of 
the small pupil who occupied the front seat, his legs swinging 
like a pendulum a few inches from the floor. The backs of 
the older pupils were toward the teacher when they were writ- 
ing or carving rude images on the desks in front of them. The 
studies were made up principally of the three "R's," with pen- 
manship in addition. In the instruction of the latter, the copy- 
book, made by binding sheets of foolscap within a cover of 
coarse manilla, was considered a necessity. Usually the teach- 
er wrote on the head line of each page, some quotation or moral 
precept for the pupils to copy, so that while being instructed in 
the art of writing, his mind was filled with wholesome senti- 
ment. Shakespeare, Cervantes and Mother Goose were levied 
upon to furnish suitable sentences. 



COMMON SCHOOLS OF THE COUNTY 149 

The first schoolhouse built in Montgomery County was 
erected by John Ross under a contract, for eighty dollars, and 
was of the true backwoods style. It was located a short dis- 
tance southeast of Villisca on Section 26, Jackson Township. 
The first schoolhouses were invariably used for religious ser- 
vices, and Rev. W. C. Means, a clergyman of the Cumberland 
Presbyterian Church, held the first service. The first teacher 
was Judge Samuel Baker, though there is no record of the num- 
ber of names of his pupils or of the salary he received. The 
Rev. James Rand, a Methodist circuit rider, also preached a 
few nights at this place at about the same time. James Ross, 
from Ohio, a young man with a well furnished mind, taught in 
this schoolhouse in the winter of 1865. His compensation was 
$18.00 per month and he had about twenty-five pupils. The 
names of some of them were : A. J. Baker, H. G. McMillen, 
B. F. Means, Sarah M. Means, Lydia Martha Carlisle, Wm. 
Findley, Robert George, Susan and Celestus Harlow, John 
James, Joseph, Peter and Lydia Moore and Henry and James 
Penwell. Another schoolhouse was built on Section 9, Doug- 
las Township, about the same time, by Wm. Stipe and A. M. 
F*. Whittier. This institution of learning cost $35.00 or $40.- 
00; was built of logs and was 14x16 feet, with puncheon floor 
and clap-board roof. It was furnished and warmed the same 
as the other. Mrs. Henry Shank, now living in Red Oak, 
taught the first school in the county of which there is any record. 
This was in the summer of 1 856. The house was a log cabin 
once used for a residence and situated near Climax in West 
Township. 

Some years afterward, a small, unplastered, frame building 
was built by L. N. Harding, Z. M. P. Shank, G. A. Gordon 
and others, before public money was available for that purpose. 
This schoolhouse was located on First Street, near the present 
freight depot of Red Oak. Miss Pluma S. Johnson was one 
of the teachers of this school. As the population increased. 



150 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

there was a demand for a larger room; consequently, a one- 
story brick building was erected on Corning street, near the 
present high school building. The following named teachers 
were employed at this school: Miss Morgan — subsequently 
Mrs. C. H. Lane — Phil Good, a Red Oak attorney, and 
George C. Clark, now a distinguished lawyer and ex-judge, of 
Webster City, Iowa. The schoolhouse was used for all public 
meetings such as religious services, Sunday schools, lectures, 
political meetings and celebrations. It became a residence 
when the present schoolhouse on East Coolbaugh street was 
built — the first graded school established in Red Oak. Prof. 
Wood of Clarinda was the first superintendent of this school 
and his able assistants were Mrs. L. Graybil, Miss Mary L. 
Mills — now Mrs. C. E. Richards — and Angie Cook, who be- 
came the wife of Gov. Lewelling of Kansas. 

The obsolete tovm of Frankfort contributed much to the 
early educational enterprise of Montgomery County. Miss 
Lawrence taught a subscription school of ten pupils there for 
a few months. W. H. M. Fishback opened a school there in 
the then new court house — a building with one room. He was 
followed by David Ellison, a young attorney from Des Moines 
and now a prominent citizen and attorney of Kansas City. On 
the 14th day of November, 1853, the writer commenced the 
first school in the first schoolhouse of Frankfort and taught there 
two winter terms for $33 I -3 per month, his salary being paid 
out of the first public funds provided for that purpose. He 
was followed by Elihu Davis, a young man from Ohio, Mrs. 
Emily U. Barnard and others, until the county seat was re- 
moved to Red Oak. 

For a proper understanding of the educational affairs of that 
time, it is necessary to take into consideration its environments. 
We must view the situation in the light of time. Common 
wants and common interests tended to tone down the individual 
characteristics of the community and to weld them together in 



COMMON SCHOOLS OF THE COUNTY 151 

fraternal bonds. Acquaintance softens prejudice. The peo- 
ple worked together for the common good; the process of as- 
similation was rapid and the heterogeneous became the homo- 
geneous. A school was provided for the children and youth of 
the town, a score or more of whom, living in remote parts of 
the county, availed themselves of this, the only opportunity for 
an education within their reach. Some of them enlisted in the 
army and never returned. Some removed farther west, while 
others still reside in the county and are among our most worthy 
citizens. That school situated out on the bleak prairie was an 
inspiration to many of the sixty pupils who assembled there for 
instruction. There were almost as many dialects spoken there 
as there were pupils. Some "guessed;" others "reckoned." 
Some, in the pronunciation of words, dropped the consonant 
"r," and others habitually used "heap" or "right smart" to 
express size or number. The school taught by the writer was 
without uniformity in text books, although McGuffey's Speller 
and Ray's Arithmetic predominated. As a general rule, there 
were as many different kinds of text books in the early schools 
as there were families to use them. School was opened daily 
according to the New York and New England form, by reading 
a few verses from the Bible. Then the real work of the school 
commenced by eclectic methods, combining the old with the 
new, the teacher utilizing his knowledge obtained in the State 
Normal School at Albany, N. Y. 

Wholesome discipline was enforced, though there were a 
large number of pupils confined within the walls of a small 
room. King Solomon's suggestion that sparing the rod would 
spoil the child was followed, though with a mental reservation 
that other and better methods would finally prevail as an anti- 
dote to the innate depravity of the unruly urchin. This method 
of curbing reckless spirits and of making an impression by leav- 
ing a mark, has now fallen into harmless disuse, never again to 
be revived. At the close of each school day, the advanced 



152 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

pupils were arranged on each side of the room and then made 
to recite the multiplication table in concert or to spend a few 
minutes in spelling or defining Latin phrases. In stormy weath- 
er, some patron of the school would be ready at the schoolhouse 
door with ox-team and sled, to convey the smaller children to 
their homes. The winters were usually severe and long, with 
deep drifting snows. The children were poorly clad, but they 
were care-free and happy. 

There clusters around the early schools of the county much 
of interest, and it is gratifying to note the progress that has been 
made in our educational enterprises. In obedience to the un- 
iversal law of progress from lower to higher, the primitive hut 
is supplanted by comfortable frame buildings, well lighted and 
heated, and supplied with necessary furniture. In our cities 
and towns, the school buildings are often models of architecture, 
equipped with every apparatus beneficial to the bodily comfort 
and mental growth of the student. 

All the intervening years have been marked by progress, 
sometimes slow, but always forward — a promise and a prophecy 
of still greater progress in the future. 



CHAPTER XVIII 



COUNTY COURT HOUSES. PAST AND PRESENT. 

The present Montgomery County Court House is a hand- 
some and commodious building of fire proof construction, built 
of Missouri limestone, red pressed brick and terra cotta. The 
roof is slate, while all frame work and supporting beams are of 
steel. The building is thus a safe and permanent depository for 
county property and records. 

The members of the county board at the time this important 
work was inaugurated were Messrs. C. L. Stratton, J. F. 
Moates and M. F. Dilly. Fortunately, the work was in safe 
hands and from start to finish, the county's interests were care- 
fully guarded; nor was there ever the slightest breath of scandal 
connected with the building. The work was not without ser- 
ious hindrances and difficulties. The original contract was 
with Richards & Co., an Omaha firm, for the round sum of 
$69,000 — less money by far than the actual cost of the work» 
as was afterwards demonstrated. The contractors failed before 
the completion of the building, thus throwing the completion 
of the work on the county board and entailing long and expen- 
sive litigation later on. The contractors left a large number 
of unpaid bills, chiefly for steel and terra cotta used in building, 
and the firms furnishing these materials sued the county for the 
amount owed by Richards & Co. Not to enter into the de- 
tails of the matter, we may record that the supreme court de- 
cided that the county could not be held liable and many thou- 
sands of dollars worth of materials in the building may be said 
to have been supplied free. Considering this and the funxishing 
of the offices, the improvement of the real estate and other 
items, the actual cost value of the splendid building as it stands^ 



154 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

is well worth beyond one hundred thousand dollars. 

Despite the bitter fight made at the special election against 
the building, it is safe to say that what at first was regarded by 
some of our citizens as an extravagant and unnecessary expendi- 
ture of public money is now considered by all a public neces- 
sity, and that few if any people of the county would dispense 
with our fine court house to put the money back into the county 
treasury. 

The question of erecting a suitable court house had engaged 
public attention several times previously. In 1 883, the proposi- 
tion to build a fifty thousand dollar court house was submitted 
to the electors, but was overwhelmingly defeated, there being 
only 285 votes in its favor. While the county seat was at 
Frankfort, a vote was taken upon the proposition to build a court 
house there. It was at a time when the attention of the electors 
was directed toward another location. Red Oak Junction hav- 
ing become a hamlet of several houses, the people were full of 
faith that it would be the principal town in the county, being lo- 
cated near a stream of considerable size and on the line of the 
projected railroad. Frankfort was within one mile of the cen- 
ter of the county, but without either of the other advantages, 
and when the vote was taken. Red Oak had 1 1 5 votes and 
Frankfort 109. 

It was a close shave, but Red Oak had won by 6. Red 
Oak did not get the court house for some time afterward. The 
minutes of the October, 1863, session, held a few days after the 
vote was taken, show that the county board started to canvass 
the vote and stopped with one township, that one Red Oak, 
the vote of which was Red Oak 46, Frankfort I . On the sec- 
ond day of the session, I. F. Hendrie moved that Red Oak be 
declared the county seat, and I. N. Applegate seconded the 
motion, but the chairman ruled the motion out of order. No 
other record appears until June 6, 1 864, when G. A. Gordon, 
Clerk of Red Oak township, presented an amended return of 



COUNTY COURT HOUSES. PAST AND PRESENT 1 55 

that township's vote as required by a writ of mandamus from 
the district court. Mention is made of a similar writ requiring 
the county board to canvass the vote. Action was postponed 
till the next day, then till afternoon, then till the next day, but 
finally on June 8, 1 864, eight months after the election, the vote 
was canvassed and the figures announced as noted. It was or- 
dered that the records be moved by June, 1865, and the court 
house by January, 1 866, the citizens of Red Oak, as per agree- 
ment, to bear the expense of moving. 

The June session of the county board was held in what was 
then the Masonic hall in Red Oak, and the courthouse was 
moved in December of that year. The old courthouse build- 
ing which was moved from Frankfort is now one of the buildings 
fronting south in the Stover Feed Yard. One condition in 
the proposition for change of county seat location was that 
the citizens of Red Oak should bear the expense of moving the 
courthouse if the proposition carried. The storm created by 
this project was as a calm spring morning compared with the 
blizzard encountered by Wayne Stennett and his party when 
transferring that building from Frankfort to Red Oak. It took 
thirty yoke of oxen to draw the huge sleds upon which the build- 
ing was placed. They moved slowly northward from Frankfort 
around the dividing ridge between the waters of the little streams 
flowing into Red Oak Creek and those flowing into the Nish- 
nabotna River. When one-half of the route had been covered, 
the darkening clouds and the intense cold, coupled with the 
fact that the movers were off their course and going down a 
decline, compelled them to unhitch and abandon their charge. 
Not one of the party could definitely locate the Montgomery 
County Court House, and during the continuance of the storm, 
there was not a man in the county who could do so. It was lost 
on the prairie. It was afterward brought around by the old 
McLean homestead, two miles northeast of Red Oak, and 
thence to the county seat, intersecting with Railroad St. (now 



156 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

Washington Ave.) and from there to the northwest corner of 
the public square. This building was 36 x 18 and of two 
stories. Its original cost as compared with the present structure 
is as one to one hundred. In other words, were the cost of our 
courthouse to be invested in buildings the value of that first one, 
and these buildings placed together without space between 
them, they would extend from the Methodist Church to the 
C. B. & Q. depot; or, standing at a distance of twenty-five rods 
apart, they would reach from Frankfort to Red Oak. 

The pioneer building was used for courthouse purposes for 
several years, it being supplemented by renting other rooms. 
In 1871, the county levied a tax of one mill for building and 
furnishing a court house, and kept it up for three years. The 
fund thus accumulated was finally transferred to other funds, 
mostly to the bridge fund. In June 1876, the county leased 
from Malnburg & Gassner the second story of their store room 
on the north side of the public square for the term of live years, 
at a rental of five hundred dollars a year. In April 1881, a 
similar contract was made with A. McConnell and H. Sweger 
for the second story of their building on Reed St., running for 
the same length of time, at a yearly rental of eight hundred and 
fifty dollars per year. Two years later, a proposition to build 
a fifty thousand dollar structure was defeated as before stated. 
Not until a proposition was submitted to the voters to build a 
first-class court house that would be a credit to the county, did 
the people take kindly to it, and, though there was strong oppo- 
sition, it carried by a small, though safe majority. 

The laying of the corner stone of the new court house, July 
4, 1890, was an occasion long to be remembered. Governor 
Horace Boies, Judge Granger of the Supreme Court and other 
notable persons from abroad were in attendance. The officers 
of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, assisted by 
Hon. Smith McPherson, with plumb, square and level, pro- 
nounced it properly placed. It was then sprinkled with corn, 



COUNTY COURT HOUSES. PAST AND PRESENT 157 

wine and oil, symbolizing nourishment, refreshment and joy. 
Appropriate exercises, including prayer and addresses, were 
held. The occasion was a notable one and drew large num- 
bers of people from all directions, and a conservative estimate 
would place the number of visitors as not fewer than ten thou- 
sand. When, upon completion of the building, the people as- 
sembled to assist in its formal opening or dedication. Judge 
Horace E. Deemer presided. Rev. E. C. Moulton offered an 
invocation, which was followed by speeches by parties selected 
for that purpose from home and abroad. The visiting lawyers 
were entertained by the Montgomery County Bar at a banquet 
at the Hotel Johnson. Hon. Smith McPherson, as toastmas- 
ler, in a short speech of cordial welcome, introduced C. S. 
Keenan of Shenandoah, who in a happy manner responded to 
"The Lawyer in Politics." L. T. Genung of Mills County 
followed in response to "Professional Jurors," while Frank 
Shinn of Carson, Iowa, told about *Our Clients." "The En- 
forcement of the Criminal Law" was responded to by Chas. 
Harl of Council Bluffs. 

A number of letters of regret were also received from judges, 
lawyers and others who had been invited but were unable to be 
present. A few of these deserve inclusion in this book, es- 
pecially because of their bearing upon the earlier history of the 
county. Judge Carson, formerly of the District Court, wrote: 
"I congratulate you and all of you upon your entry into the tem- 
ple erected to the Goddess of Justice, and to be dedicated to 
her just balances ; and, in the language of Hooker, 'Of law no 
less can be acknowledged than that her seat is in the bosom of 
God, her language the voice of the world; all things in heaven 
and on earth doing her homage, the very least feeling her care, 
and the greatest not exempt from her frown.' The Montgom- 
ery County Bar have always been esteemed for their uniforn 
kindness and courtesy during my term of service with them, and 
I regret that business matters prevent my presence at your fes- 
tivitites." 



158 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

Judge James G. Day responded to the invitation as follows: 
"Nothing would afford me more real pleasure than to be with 
you upon that occasion, and meet my old friends of Montgom- 
ery County, of whom, notwithstanding the flight of nearly thirty 
years, I am satisfied many yet remain. Business engagements 
for next week, of an urgent and important nature, force me re- 
luctantly to deny myself the pleasure of accepting your invita- 
tion. The changes which time has wrought since I assumed 
the office of judge of your district are more wonderful than ever 
were attributed to the wand of a magician. Then, there was 
not a mile of railroad in the district, and, as I now remember, 
not a house between Frankfort and Red Oak." 

Allen Beeson, one of the old time members of the bar, wrote 
from Plattsmouth, Neb. : "I know of nothing that would give 
me so much pleasure cis to be present on that occasion to renew 
old friendships and form new ones. The thought of it puts me 
in a reminiscent mood and brings up fresh in my mind the hard- 
ships and privations, as well as the pleasures of pioneer days, 
when we had only about three days of court per year in school 
houses. One time I now call to mind, there were sixteen cases 
on the docket and seventeen lawyers present. Of course, the 
lawyers were nearly all non-residents, who followed the court 
around the district seeking business. In looking back at those 
early days, many pleasant memories come up and I know of 
nothing that would give me greater pleasure than to be with 
you on that occasion and rejoice with you over the magnificent 
structure which will stand as a monument to the intelligence 
and thrift of the good people of Montgomery County." 

The first Judge of the District Court was Bradford. He 
was appointed to that position by Gov. James W. Grimes in 
1855. He was a good natured man, fat and jolly, and took 
an optimistic view of the situation in the district over which he 
presided. He was full of "wise saws and modern instances," 
was a good lawyer and well suited to his judicial position. He 



COUNTY COURT HOUSES. PAST AND PRESENT 1 59 

never held court in Montgomery County, although his jurisdic- 
tion extended over the territory of that county. The nearest 
court was held at Quincy, in Adams Co. His immediate suc- 
cessor was E. H. Sears of Sidney, Iowa, who was a conspicu- 
ous judge — a Calvinist in religion and a terror to evil doers. 
Then came James E. Day, a gentleman of the old school and 
abreast of the times. Judge Day was very popular with the 
people and served on the bench twelve years, holding his last 
term in Frankfort in 1870. Afterward he became Chief Jus- 
tice of the Iowa Supreme Court. 

The first term of the District Court held in the county con- 
vened at Frankfort on the 1 7th day of November, 1 856, E. H. 
Sears presiding. The place was the residence of Dr. Amasa 
Bond, who was clerk at that time. There was but little busi- 
ness to transact, though all of the officers of the court, together 
with the jury, were in attendance. The first clerk of the court 
was S. C, Dunn, an old and respected citizen now living in 
Villisca. His immediate successors were Dr. Amasa Bond, 
Dr. E. Adair, D. C. Powell and W. W. Merritt. The ac- 
commodations of that court were meager in the extreme. The 
people lacked the conveniences and accessories of modern life. 
A small room in a log house with only a table and a few chairs 
constituted the furniture of the first court room. The table, 
upon which the court records and papers were kept, was also 
used as a dining table for the family ; the records being removed 
to make room for the plates, and vice versa. After the jury 
had heard the evidence of the litigants and the charge of the 
court, they were ordered out upon the prairie to deliberate upon 
their verdict. The next session of court was held in the Frank- 
fort schoolhouse. Here pupils received instruction, the preach- 
er warmed the hearts of the people, and the judge administered 
justice. 

The first district attorney was the inimitable R. B Parrott, 
warm hearted and impetuous; a gifted man who was always 



160 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

equal to the occasion. Then came C. E. Millard, followed by 
Lafayette McPherson, a dignified gentleman and an able law- 
yer, who took the office in 1871, and served until his death, 
which occurred the following December. The next district 
attorney was Col. D. B. Daily of Council Bluffs. His succes- 
sor was William McLaughlin of Mt. Ayr, who was followed 
by Smith McPherson, who later resigned to accept the office 
of Attorney General. 

A. G. Lowe is entitled to the distinction of being the first 
County Judge. He was a typical Kentucky gentleman, a man 
of many amiable qualities and generous to a fault. His suc- 
cessor was James R. Horton, an early settler, from Highland 
County, Ohio. He was a member of the society of "Friends" 
or Quakers, and discharged his trust with ability and fidelity. 
W. G. Ewing was County Judge until the State Legislature 
changed the system of county government by an act which took 
effect July 4, 1 866. 

Sheriffs of the early days served in the following order: L. 
C. Cook, deceased; Chas. Bolt, now a resident of Red Oak; 
John Shafer, deceased, and H. G. McMullen, now a resident 
of Chadron, Neb. 

While the procedure of the courts of the pioneer days was 
rough and lacking in the finish of our modern courts, their 
decisions were usually in accordance with justice, meeting the 
approval and reflecting the sentiment of the community. The 
salaries were small and often unpaid, so that invariably the 
"office sought the man," thus minimizing the temptations to 
"graft" — an argument in favor of the divorce of matters per- 
taining to our courts from politics. 




MRS. LUCY M. JOHNSON— Now in her 89th 
year. Has resided in Red Oak township 
since 1854. 



SOPHRONIA DEAN SHANK— Taught the first 
school in the county at Climax. 





MRS. PAMELA WORSLEY— Born October 21, 
1809. A resident of Red Oak 38 years. 



MRS. ANNA 
Hebard. 



HEBARD-Widow of Col. A. 





MOSES CHANDLER, Deceased— An early settler 
and large land holder. President Farmers 
Nat'l Bank at Red Oak, at time of death. 



JOSEPH F. FISHER, Deceased— Born Oct. 14, 
1828, came to Red Oak 1869. He took the 
leading part in building up Red Oak; built 
and operated the packing house. 




P. P. JOHNSON, Deceased— An early settler and 
one of the largest land holders in the county. 
Builder of Johnson House, Red Oak. He 
came to county in 1856. 



ELIJAH OVERMAN, Deceased— The first post- 
master of Villisca. 



CHAPTER XIX. 



MEMORIAL SERVICES OF LINCOLN, GARFIELD, 
GRANT AND McKINLEY. 
Among the most significant and impressive public assemblies 
in the history of Montgomery County were those when the 
people gathered to do honor to the memory of their dead pres- 
idents — Lincoln, Garfield, Grant and McKinley. Political 
and religious creeds were for the moment thrown aside and all 
united in paying their last earthly tribute to their illustrious dead. 
These services are worthy of record to the end that it may never 
be forgotten that, whatever their differences, there has always 
existed a bond of union and affection between the people and 
their most exalted servants. 

ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

In the lists of patriots and statesmen who have rendered ser- 
vice to their country, Abraham Lincoln stands foremost. That 
simple, truthful, noble soul, faithful to the trust imposed upon 
him, stood firmly against the forces of dis-union and for the 
perpetuity of our free institutions. "He wrestled ceaselessly 
through four black and dreadful purgatorial years wherein 
God was cleansing the sin of his people as by fire." Before 
the consummation so devoutly to be wished had been effected 
and the new birth of freedom announced, Abraham Lincoln 
was slain. At this date one can hardly realize the profound 
grief of the people, produced by the death of the president 
whom they had learned to love. His name was a household 
word. They had trod with him the way of darkness and dan- 
ger, and had seen him maintain through it all a moderation of 
spirit that all the heat of party could not inflame nor all the 



162 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

jars and disturbance of his country shake out of place. An- 
imosities were covered up and a divided people bowed in grief 
in the presence of an irreparable calamity. 

Mr. Lincoln's memorial service in Red Oak was held in a 
little one-story and one-room schoolhouse on Corning street. 
People came from the Valley of the Nodaway and from other 
remote parts of the county. It was an informal meeting, with- 
out program, a brief address being made by the writer. The 
quietness and solemnity of this occasion was like unto that of 
a funeral with the dead body of a dear friend near by. The 
people divided into little groups and conversed in low tones. 
To each one it was a personal loss as well as a public calam- 
ity. They had a clear conception of his character as voiced by 
Mr. Henry Watterson, the celebrated editor of the Louisville 
Courier-Journal : 

"Born as lowly as the son of God, in a hovel; of what an- 
cestry we know not and care not; reared in penury and 
squalor, with no gleam of light or fair surroundings; without 
external graces, actual or acquired; without name or fame or 
official training, it was reserved for this strange being, late in 
life, to be snatched from obscurity, raised to supreme command 
at a supreme moment and entrusted with the destiny of a nation. 

"Where did Shakespeare get his genius? Where did Mo- 
zart get his music? Whose hand smote the lyre of the Scot- 
tish plowman and stayed the life of the German priest? God! 
God and God alone! And so surely as these were raised up 
by God, inspired by God, was Abraham Lincoln, and 1,000 
years hence no story, no tragedy, no epic poem will be filled 
with greater wonder, to be followed by mankind with deeper 
feeling than that which tells of his life and death." 

JAMES A. GARFIELD. 
Our country was at rest after a spirited political campaign. 
The heart burning and the strife engendered by the contending 
parties had in a great measure subsided. The verdict of the 



MEMORIAL SERVICES 163 

popular will was accepted in the spirit of our institutions, and 
James A. Garfield became President of the United States. 
Suddenly a dark shadow fell over the land. A cruel, preme- 
ditated, unprovoked, cowardly assault was made upon him, 
culminating in his death and leaving our country in mourning. 
For eighty weary days the people lived in the hope of his re- 
covery. There was tender solicitude and prayerful interest 
from every hamlet in the land. Our countrymen ceased to 
think of Mr. Garfield in his official position. The man, the 
friend and brother, rather than the office, was directly before 
them. 

Memorial services in his honor were held in different towns 
in the county. At Red Oak, great preparations had been 
made in the spacious new opera house of Bishop & Houghton — 
since destroyed by fire — located on the northeast corner of the 
public square, and a very large audience assembled, notwith- 
standing the fact that many did not care to be present at the 
first test of strength of the structure. The stage decorations 
were elaborate, representing a lawn studded with flowers, and 
showing flags draped in mourning. Addresses were made by 
Hon. Smitli McPherson, Rev. O'Neal and W. W. Merritt. 

Structures erected by human hands fall into decay and ruin, 
but great characters abide through all time. James A. Gar- 
field is a silent monument standing in the midst of this great 
people, immovable and imperishable. 

ULYSSES S. GRANT. 

The brief paragraph telegraphed from Mt. McGregor, New 
York, that Gen. Grant was dead, reached every center of 
population in this great republic in a few hours and, ere the 
setting of the sun on that day, the news had spread to every 
capital of the civilized world. 

There is a pathetic interest in all that relates to that sad 
event. Months before, it was believed that death had marked 
him for a victim, and there was little hope of his recovery. He 



164 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

was not old, and he had much to live for. His laurels were 
many; his reputation world-wide. The gratitude of a great 
and free people was unfeigned. But, while kings' palaces were 
open to him, the narrow house, appointed for all, awaited him. 
Medical skill and the invigorating mountain air were of no 
avail, and, with characteristic imperturbility of spirit, he calmly 
and heroically submitted to the inevitable. 

From obscurity to the command of armies larger than Na- 
poleon ever saw ; for eight years the chief magistrate of the great- 
est republic on earth or known to history, and, subsequently, on 
Mt. McGregor, an incurable invalid, the object of millions of 
prayers, is in briefest outline the career of one of the most re- 
markable men of modern times. What wonder that the people 
should meet to do honor to such a man. Several towns in the 
county held services to his memory, the one in Red Oak being 
unusually impressive — an occasion long to be remembered by 
the vast audience there assembled. It was a beautiful day, 
and from the pagoda in the public square, addresses were de- 
livered, setting forth the military and civil history of Gen. Grant. 
The G. A. R. attended in a body. Patriotic songs were ren- 
dered and addresses were made by Smith McPherson, Dr. 
J. P. Hatton, W. W. Merritt and others. 

Gen. Grant's body lies quietly sleeping beside that of his 
wife in a tomb overlooking the Hudson River in New York 
City. 

WILLIAM McKINLEY. 

It is impossible to portray the sincere sorrow as exhibited on 
the occasion of the memorial services of William McKinley. 
The people assembled at designated places throughout the 
country in honor of this illustrious American citizen, loved and 
honored by all. At Red Oak, responding to the proclamation 
of the Mayor, a meeting was held at the armory, where the 
audience feelingly participated in a service previously arranged 
by a committee of citizens. The armory could not hold all 



MEMORIAL SERVICES 165 

who came. Suspended in front and above the stage was a por- 
trait of President McKinley, draped in mourning, with a large 
flag on either side, also draped in mourning. The speakers' 
stand, built out from the platform, was covered with black 
cloth. The G. A. R. and the Women's Relief Corps had seats 
in front. On the stage beside the chairman, the speakers and 
resident ministers, was a choir of twenty voices. Mr. John 
Hayes was made chairman of the meeting. The exercises be- 
gan with the hymn, "Nearer My God To Thee;" followed 
by Scripture reading by Rev. John Shaw of the Baptist Church; 
Prayer by Rev. S. E. DuBois of the United Presbyterian 
Church; Quartet, "Lead Kindly Light," by Mrs. E. M. 
Woodard, Miss Nanna Ingersoll, Mrs. F. J. Brodby and Mrs. 
J. J. Shuey; Addresses by Dr. Cook of the Presbyterian 
Church, Judge S. McPherson, Judge H. E. Deemer, Senator 
J. M. Junkin and W. W. Merritt; Hymn, "America;" Ben- 
ediction by Rev. J. W. Walters of the Christian Church. The 
entire service was subdued and impressive in character. The 
attention given the speakers was intense; the occasion too 
solemn for applause. 

The Sunday previous, memorial services were held in nearly 
all of the churches. Bruce Commandery Knights Templar held 
a special conclave and took suitable action relative to the death 
of President McKinley. The Knights of Pythias also as a lodge 
passed resolutions of respect and tribute to the dead president. 
Services were held at the High School, and all business, in- 
cluding the County Fair, was suspended. 

Notwithstanding many eloquent and feeling tributes from 
editorials in metropolitan and country newspapers, from the cler- 
gy, members of the bar and associations of various kinds in 
this and other countries, our people participated in tl\ese ser- 
vices because of a love for him which came from the depths 
of their hearts. All thought of partisanship sank out of sight 
in the presence of such profound grief. 



166 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

William McKinley ranked among the very foremost of our 
presidents. Questions intricate and difficult of solution were 
met with courage and wisdom. His entire life's record, pub- 
lic and private, was free from stain; all men acknowledged the 
purity of his life. He died at the zenith of his popularity and 
his fame is secure. As a citizen, he was not better than many 
another who still lives and labors for the welfare of society, but 
as a chief executive of this great nation of freemen, there is not 
to be found a nobler or a more considerate man in the list of past 
or present rulers of this world. 

Abraham Lincoln died at Washington, D. C, April 1 5, 
1 865 ; James Abraham Garfield died at Elberon, N. J. Sept. 1 9, 
1881 ; Gen. U. S. Grant died at Mt. McGregor, near Sar- 
atoga, N. Y., July 23, 1885; William McKinley Jr. died at 
Buffalo. N. Y., Sept. 14, 1901. 



CHAPTER XX. 



SOME EARLY EXPERIENCES. 

The following account of some of the experiences of the 
pioneers of Montgomery County, told in their own language, 
is quoted from various sources. One of the earliest settlers in 
this section was H. C. Binns, who located just across the line 
in Page County in 1854. He originally came from Pennsyl- 
vania. 

COULDN'T BUY A STAMP. 

"In those days," remarked Mr. Binns, "we didn't get many 
letters and when one did come it wasn't certain we could get 
it from the postoffice. I remember one time that a letter came 
for my brother with six and one-half cents postage due. In 
our family of eleven we couldn't scrape together enough to pay 
the postage, and what was worse, our neighbors couldn't help 
us out. Finally, Mrs. Nellie Stafford, who lived a number of 
miles away, and, by the way, she was the first white woman in 
ihe county, heard of our predicament and sent us the money. 

"How did I get here? Well, I walked from Glenwood. 
When I reached the 'Botna I could find no means of crossing, so 
I took off my clothes, tied them in a bundle and fastened them 
in the fork of a bough and put my money in my boots which I 
hung 'round my neck. Then I swam across the stream carry- 
ing my clothes before me, and was nearly eaten up by the 
mosquitoes. 

CROWDED QUARTERS. 

"During the winter of '56 and '57, our entire family of 
eleven, and one boarder, lived in a house 1 6x 1 8. You remem- 
ber that was the year of the great storm, when so many people 



168 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

suffered and hundreds of deer and other wild animals perished. 
Just before the storm came on we ran out of meal. All our 
neighbors were in the same boat, and for six weeks we ground 
corn in the coffee mill for the whole family, rather than go to 
mill, which would have required five days to go and come. 
The storm began December 1, 1856, and it snowed furiously 
for three days. After that it snowed at short intervals until it 
lay four feet deep in the timber, and on the 1 0th of May follow- 
ing, some of the snow was still lying in sheltered places. 
A $40 PAIR OF BOOTS. 

"We were pretty homesick the next year," said Mr. Binns, 
"and I believe if we had had decent clothes we would have 
left the country. As it was, our clothing was patched so that 
the original garments could scarcely be recognized, and we all 
went barefoot regardless of rattlesnakes. Boots were not to 
be had for a song in those days. A brother of mine traded 
forty bushels of corn to C. H. Lane for a pair of coarse stogas. 
Lane made a good thing out of the deal, too, for the next year 
the war broke out and he sold the corn for one dollar per 
bushel, making the boots worth forty dollars. We used after- 
wards to speak of Robert's forty dollar boots. Tom Weidman 
helped haul the corn to the Missouri river." 

Mr. Binns tells of a trip he took to Council Bluffs to buy 
eighty acres of land : 

"We had saved just an even $100, and several of us started 
tc enter the land. We were supplied with horse feed and 
lunch enough to last the entire trip, for we had no money to 
buy meals. While camping out on the way to the "Bluffs," 
one of the boys carelessly put the lunch box where the horses 
could get at it, and when we were ready to start our lunch, 
what hadn't been eaten by the horses, was unfit for food. 
Throwing the fragments away, we proceeded, made our pur- 
chase and returned. For almost two days we went without 
eating, and finally, nearly famished, we stopped at a house 



SOME EARLY EXPERIENCES 169 

where the people were better known for their filth than any- 
thing else. We were invited to dinner and concluded to shut 
our eyes and trust in Providence. Although the meat was 
kept on the floor under the bed, and everything else just as 
filthy, I don't think I ever ate a meal that tasted so good. 

PORK AT ONE-HALF CENT PER POUND. 

"Talk about hard times now! Why, we are living amid 
luxurious abundance to what the people had in those days. 
For years no land was sold for taxes. There wasn't anyone 
to buy." Mr. Binns said that for eighteen months his total 
cash on hand amounted to just thirty-five cents. "One time 
I needed some money very badly, so I loaded up a lot of pork 
and started out to sell it. I first went to Sidney, from there to 
Hamburg, and from there to Nebraska City, and then back to 
Hamburg. By this time my meat was in such a condition that 
it was liable to spoil on my hands. There was a small store 
at Hamburg, the principal stock of which was a quantity of 
liquor in the back room, the few articles on the shelves being a 
mere blind for the more profitable business of selling liquor. 
To the proprietor of this place I sold my pork for about fifty 
cents per hundred pounds and took it out in trade, and after 
I had all my purchases you could have bought the lot for five 
dollars. My brother Charles hired a man for one dollar a day 
to haul wheat to St. Joe, and when he got back the proceeds 
came within an even dollar of paying the hired man. 

A REVIVALIST CALLED DOWN BY HIS WIFE. 
"We didn't always have an opportunity to hear religious 
services, and when a meeting was announced, we weren't sure 
the sermon would be preached," said the same speaker. "Along 
in '59 or '60 arrangements were made to hold a protracted 
meeting at a schoolhouse near the edge of Montgomery County. 
The exhorter opened the services and got up to begin preaching. 
He fidgeted about for some time and finally said: 'I can't 



1 70 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

preach today, my wife has lost my references.' And there is 
where he made his mistake. The lady referred to got up and 
called her husband a liar and the quarrel that followed broke 
up the meeting. 

AN EIGHT DAY JOURNEY TO MILL. 

"We enjoyed life in those days even if we did suffer priva- 
tion," said Mr. Binns, "but there was one time things looked 
very gloomy. I had been here about two years and had run 
out of money. Borrowed fifty dollars of Stephen Davis, pay- 
ing forty per cent interest. Went to Linden, forty miles away, 
and bought some corn, paying one dollar and a half per bushel ; 
hauled it to Rockport, Mo., to get it ground, but the water 
was so low they couldn't grind. Went twenty miles farther 
and found a mill. Had to stay all night and left the meal in 
the mill. During the night a rain storm came up and my meal 
got wet and on my way home I found it was spoiled. I was 
gone eight days on this trip, but we lived somehow." 

Thos. Weidman came from Pennsylvania and walked to 
this county from St. Joe — secured a farm, married a wife, 
raised a family and accumulated a competence here. He has 
figured in politics, having represented the county in the State 
Legislature. He tells an amusing story of how he fell from 
grace — got into politics: "Squire Hewitt was a justice of the 
peace in Red Oak and he wanted a justice elected in another 
part of the township so there wouldn't be anyone to divide the 
business in the village with him. He got me elected to the 
office, but I wouldn't qualify. One day he said, 'Tom, if you 
will qualify as justice of the peace, I'll give you your choice 
out of that litter of pups.' W. W. Merritt also insisted, and 
before I knew exactly what was being done I was a full-fledged 
J. P. I got the pup, though. But the whole thing turned 
out badly; I didn't get out of politics for years and that pup got 
into a woman's churn, drank her cream, and I always blamed 
her for tying the dog to a wagon and allowing him to be taken 
away." 



SOME EARLY EXPERIENCES 171 

NO LAWYERS. DOCTORS OR MERCHANTS. 

Mr. Weidman got married on the 4th of July, 1 86 1 , and at 
that lime there wasn't a merchant, a doctor or lawyer in the 
county. C. H. Lane closed up his business after Mr. 
Weidman bought his household goods to set up housekeeping. 
The whole thing amounted to less than ten dollars. Every- 
body agreed that they got along splendidly without the doctor 
and lawyer, and they didn't need much store goods. What 
few groceries and the like they needed were brought from 
Council Bluffs, Glenwood and Sidney. 

Mr. Lane came back several years later and again opened a 
store in Red Oak. Mr. Weidman was greatly in need of a 
hat and when one of his cows died he took the hide to Lane's 
and traded it for a hat. His neighbor, Mr. A. Milner, wanted 
to know how he got it. Upon being told, he remarked that 
he would have a new hat also, the first time a cow died. Sure 
enough, he lost a cow shortly afterwards, and the hide furnished 
him with a hat. 

Another of Mr. Weidman's recollections, quoted from a 
communication addressed to the Red Oak Express a few years 
ago, told of one of the early courts where business was done 
quickly. He says: 

"Perhaps the readers of The Express would like to know 
how court ran in this county forty years ago. In the spring of 
1 862 I was summoned to appear at the county seat, then Frank- 
fort, to serve as a grand juror. I walked from the southwest 
corner of Grant township on the divide, or ridge, over the 
prairie to Frankfort. Not a field or fence to cross — arrived and 
reported at the schoolhouse where the court was held. 

"W. W. Merritt was clerk of court, and in this case, the 
whole thing — for he called, 'Hear Ye! Hear Ye! The Hon- 
orable District Court of Montgomery County is now in session. 
Please come to order. The jurors will answer as their names 
are called. After answering please come forward and sign 



1 72 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

the jury book.' Having all signed, the clerk calls, 'Hear Ye! 
Hear Ye! Hear Ye! There being no further business, the 
court is adjourned until next regular session.' " 

THEODORE WHITNEY'S BOOTS. 

Some amusing stories were told about Theodore Whitney, 
one of the early settlers, who was noted for his great size, par- 
ticularly the size of his feet. It is said that Sol Stout once went 
to St. Joe to buy goods and saw an exaggerated pair of boots 
hanging up just for a sign. When he tried to buy them the 
merchant thought he was crazy, but he took them along just 
the same and sold them to Whitney, and they proved to be a 
perfect fit. Whitney used to get "roasted " a great deal about 
his feet and they came to be a tender subject with him. He 
was once made the victim of a vile practical joke. He always 
left his boots on the porch, and one night the boys stole them 
and raided a watermelon patch, after which they returned the 
boots to their place. The next morning the owner of the 
patch discovered that some of his melons were missing and at 
the same time found foot prints that could have been made 
by no other boot than Whitney's. When accused of the theft 
he of course indignantly denied the charge, but upon being con- 
fronted with his own tracks he was confounded. He scratched 
his head in a puzzled sort of way and finally said, "Yes, them's 
my tracks," and putting his hand into his pocket, "how much 
is the damage?" 

HOW THEY THRESHED THEIR GRAIN. 
Ephriam Milner owned the only machine in the county that 
year. He threshed for Joe Chenoweth, then moved to Adams 
county where he did a job for Judge Bennett; then went to 
Quincy, and from there to Jim Whitney's near Sciola. Jim had 
a machine of his own but it was up north in the next county. 
He then moved over to Page county and threshed for Major 
Cramer. In those days they charged eight cents per bushel for 



SOME EARLY EXPERIENCES 1 73 

wheat and four for oats, though some charged as much as ten 
for wheat. Thomas Weidman used to thresh his wheat in the 
primitive way — treading it out with horses. 

THEIR NAMES WERE AGAINST THEM. 
Some odd situations arose on account of peculiar names. 
It is said that C. H. Lane one time had some trouble in getting 
a consignment of merchandise on account of the odd names of 
his teamsters. He sent three men, with teams, to Council Bluffs 
for goods. When the first one arrived at the warehouse the 
agent asked for his name and business. "I came for some goods 
for C. H. Lane, of Red Oak, and my name is Hawk," he 
replied. Number tvv'o came in just then and announced his 
business. "What is your name?" asked the agent. "Crow," 
was the reply. Number three appeared on the scene at this 
moment, and said he had come for a load of goods for Lane. 
When the agent learned that the last man's name was Buzzard, 
that settled it; he wouldn't let them have the goods at all, and 
they returned empty-handed. 

YOUTHFUL AGE OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 

Its romantic period must be slightly noticed by reproducing 
sketches picked up here and there, recalling persons and inci- 
dents of the former time, in the light and spirit of that time, in 
giving them an animus that bare recitals cannot give. Humor 
and exaggeration themselves, when undisguised, are suggestive, 
and convey no little information after the manner of pictures. 
The "Frankfort Lyceum Budget" furnishes the following: 

"This winter has been one of unusual gaiety to the fashion- 
able circles of Frankfort, Montgomery's capital, one gay party 
succeeding another in rapid succession. As there has been no 
notice of a delightful party at Mr. and Mrs. Shafer's in The 
Budget, I will say that everything went off in the most agreeable 
manner, in fact it has not been surpassed in brilliancy by any 
festive occasion of the season. All the elite of the city were there. 



1 74 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTS 

It would have been a great disappointment, not to say morti- 
fication, not to have been among the invited guests. Indeed, 
the whole affair was an eminent success. 

"On Friday evening, February fourteenth, was not seen, as 
was expected, a sleigh load of people issuing forth towards Red 
Oak. The weather not being propitious it was concluded not 
to issue forth, well knowing it would be very much like sitting 
in a rocking chair at the northwest corner of the house with 
our feet immersed in a tub of cold water. Sleigh-riding in cold 
weather has been compared to that situation. 

"Well, as I was saying, the bon ton of Frankfort did not 
issue forth, but in lieu thereof they were invited to another de- 
lightful entertainment at the "Castle of Montgomery," the 
residence of Dr. and Mrs. Sperry. This, too, was another 
splendid affair. But I will not exhaust superlative terms in de- 
scribing it. I should not, however, do justice to the occasion 
if I did not mention the presence of St. Valentine. 

"Why he was called a saint I never could see, being very 
different from any saint that I have ever been acquainted with. 
The saints that I have known have been sedate, sober, devout 
people; whereas St. Valentine is very merry and funny, and, 
if I must tell the truth, I think him often quite a silly saint. But 
there is one thing in his favor, he seems to love everybody, and 
what makes him seem silly, is, he claims the right to tell them 
so upon his day. I suppose why it seems silly to us is, we are 
very apt to doubt the sincerity of that love that is too outspoken. 
The real genuine article is supposed to be shy and reserved. 
However, we will not find fault with St. Valentine, as he means 
well, and has contributed a little to our amusement. (Ficti- 
tious Signature.)" 

The writer was not neglected in this early journalism, and 
in a poetical effusion this couplet appears, alluding to the gen- 
eral mode of locomotion in the good old days: 

"Those thrilling tones. Oh, who can hear 
As you press on each lagging steer." 



SOME EARLY EXPERIENCES 1 75 

As an example of the good humored sarcasm that enlivened 
the columns of the Budget, the following is worthy of inclusion 
in this book, even though the joke was on the author : 

"In the Valentine of William we have information or an 
intimation of the carriage outfit of our old-time friend and 
new-time friend, Mr. Merritt. He was the first among us to 
keep a carriage. I think the reason for it must be that he 
'despised' walking on the slippery grass over the prairie. The 
cattle that he rode out with were the same that he hauled wood 
and plowed with, as he was too penurious to keep two teams. 
There's no doubt of it. Those who are acquainted with cat- 
tle know that they require considerable encouragement from the 
voice urging them on and keeping up their ambition, which 
makes travelling with them a rather lively and interesting bus- 
iness, accompanied with music. 

"As I was speaking about the penuriousness of a friend, I 
don't want to say anything against a friend without proving it. 
One winter he undertook to supply Frankfort with wood, as 
he had both the wood, and the cattle to haul it, and he had 
the face to take 75 cents a cord from those poor woodless people 
of Frankfort, nor could they get a stick from him for less than 
that rate. I think that proves that he must know something 
about getting up 'corners.' I think he tried to deceive us, too, 
by calling it 'prairie wood'. " 

The last is an unkind remark, for be it known that it was not 
uncommon to get wood where most convenient, and oblivious 
of the government survey. To the inquisitive inquiry, "Where 
did you get that wood?" the reply would be, "Oh, out on the 
prairie." 



CHAPTER XXI. 



A CHAPTER OF EARLY INCIDENTS— GRAVE 

AND GAY. 

FALSE IMPRISONMENT. 

There is no class of unfortunates more deserving of sympathy 
than those who have served sentences for crimes they did not 
commit, A noted prosecutor is authority for the statement that 
there are now in the criminal asylums of the state many prisoners 
who are there for crimes committed by others, roughly estimat- 
ing the number at one-third of all the convicts. It is not often 
that the real criminals confess, so that the number of innocent 
men who have been sentenced to prison cannot be known, but 
those familiar with criminal practice will agree that the estimate 
is not too high. Occasionally a man is hung for a crime he 
did not commit, as in a case in Nebraska several years ago and 
one in Pennsylvania recently. 

The state furnishes practically no defense for those charged 
with crime. Our statutes provide that when brought before 
a magistrate, the prisoner is to be informed of his right to coun- 
sel, etc., and it seems that this bare right is all he has. There 
is no provision for paying the counsel, and unless some lawyer 
takes the case upon the theory that the man will afterwards be 
indicted and that he will secure the paltry ten dollars allowed 
in cases where the crime is punishable by imprisonment in the 
penitentiary, the prisoner gets nothing but the knowledge that 
the great State of Iowa has given him the privilege of being 
represented by an attorney — providing he has enough money to 
employ one. 



EARLY INCIDENTS 1 77 

It is often an impossibility for a person without means to 
secure anything like a fair and impartial trial. Everything is 
against him. The prison officials are prejudiced by years of 
association with real criminals. They treat the suspect as they 
do the man serving time. His diet and privileges are the same. 
His associates may be men charged with every crime known to 
the criminal calendar, from simple assault to murder. The 
rich are not exempt, although they have the better chance, 
their chance being in proportion to their money. If the offense 
charged be murder, however, where usually the defendant is 
not admitted to bail, the rich man must take his place by the 
side of the poor man. 

Many men are in the penitentiary today who are there be- 
cause some slovenly witness has fixed on them a crime they did 
not commit. A notable instance of this kind occurred in this 
county twenty-five years ago. A man, afterwards proven in- 
nocent, was legally convicted by a Montgomery County jury 
of the crime of obtaining money under false pretenses, and the 
strangest part of it all is that the evidence upon which he was 
convicted apparently proved his guilt beyond any reasonable 
doubt. The record is clear. He received as good a defense 
as the money paid by the state will buy — which may not be 
saying much — and within seven days from the time of his in- 
dictment was wearing the striped suit of a felon, and sentenced 
to serve three years at hard labor in the penitentiary at Fort 
Madison, Iowa. His name was George Bennett, and the state 
which treated him so roughly has never yet had the decency 
to apologize, to say nothing of reimbursing him for his time, 
mental suffering and work. 

Bennett was arrested on the complaint of one A. Crittenden, 
a grain dealer, who swore that Bennett represented to him that 
he lived on a farm north of Red Oak and that he had one 
thousand bushels of corn for which he was willing to take twen- 
ty-five cents per bushel. A contract was drawn up and seven- 



1 78 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

ty-five dollars paid down to clinch the bargain. Bennett did 
reside on Kennedy Packard's farm near Red Oak, but he had 
sold his corn to other parties. He answered the description 
given by Crittenden of the man and the transaction with the 
exception that in making the contract he had signed his name 
"Chas. Benit." There was evidence that the Bennett ar- 
rested was sometimes called Jack Bennett, and it was inferred 
from this that it would be as easy to change a name from 
"Chas." to "George" as from "George" to "Jack." Critten- 
den swore at the trial, "I have seen this man Bennett in jail 
and say that he is the same man" — meaning that he was the 
man who defrauded him in the corn deal. One J. T. Wicker- 
sham, also a grain dealer, testified that the man arrested had 
called at his place on the day the contract was drawn and 
wanted to contract to sell some corn. Another witness named 
Alexander swore that he was present when the contract was 
drawn and that the person in jail was the person who signed 
the contract. 

Something in the prisoner's looks and actions — possibly the 
dumb appeal in his eyes — had such an effect on the then newly 
elected sheriff, H. H. Palmer, that he immediately started an 
investigation which resulted in the arrest of a man in Scotland 
Co., Missouri, who promptly confessed the crime when told 
another man was imprisoned for it. Accompanied by his 
father, he returned to Red Oak and demanded trial. Critten- 
den still refused to admit he was the man, saying he was sure 
it was Bennett. This was done, likely, as a protection in case 
suit should be brought for malicious prosecution. However, 
the man told such a straight, detailed account of the crime that, 
in spite of Crittenden's denials, Bennett was released after serv- 
ing eleven months of his sentence. The strangest part of this 
case is that Bennett and the real criminal were as unlike as two 
men could be, the fomer having a protruding chin that amounted 
almost to a deformity, while the latter had regular features. 
Both were young men. 



EARLY INCIDENTS 1 79 

No state as yet has passed legislation for the reimbursement 
of men who have been falsely imprisoned or put to the necessity 
of a defense when innocent, although within the past two years, 
in the state of New York, bills have been introduced along this 
line, the theory being that the injured person should be paid 
the actual cost of defense. J. C. Cooper, Bennett's attorney, 
tried to get a bill through the Iowa Legislature for Bennett's 
relief, but for want of influence, it failed. 

A FRANKFORT "SOCIETY MAN." 

During the winter of 1 859-60, a young man by the name of 
Frank Bates came to Frankfort for the ostensible purpose of 
clerking for Solomon Stout, a merchant. He was courteous and 
agreeable and, while he made himself conspicious in many ways, 
he was modest and unassuming. He was of medium stature, 
had a round face and rosy cheeks, blue eyes and auburn hair; 
he dressed neatly and was noted for his pleasant manners and 
general good conduct. He attended the school described in 
another place, and was always attentive, well-behaved and 
gracious. At all of the parties and neighborhood gatherings, 
he was always welcome, being a general favorite. Altogether, 
he was well calculated to charm the gentler sex ; would accom- 
pany them home and linger long at the doorway for a parting 
word as long as the climate or the individual would permit. 
He was actually engaged to be married, it is said, to one of the 
fair maidens of the town. His attentions were not confined to 
any one lady, however, and he caressed all who would permit, 
according to approved methods. One day he departed, as 
suddenly as he had come, and moved to Council Bluffs, the 
metropolis of the slope, where he exhibited all of the graces 
that had endeared him to the young society at Frankfort. There 
he had a wider field and better opportunities in which to ex- 
ercise his talents. After spending a season there, he again sud- 
denly disappeared, when the report became current that Frank, 



180 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

"the dear young man," was in reality a woman. Indeed, this 
fact was soon afterward admitted by all. At that time there 
was no more communication between Frankfort and Council 
Bluffs than there now is between Red Oak and Nome, Alaska. 
She never returned to console the ladies or to apologize to the 
gentlemen whose acquaintance she had so rudely violated. 

. HOW THE "Q" RAILROAD EARNED $2.00. . 

(The following, copied from the Creston Gazette, is one of 
Major Wood's stories, and therefore a true one.) 

"About two weeks ago a Burlington freight train struck a 
horse near Stanton and the animal was killed as dead as a smelt. 
The engineer of the train promptly wired in a report of the acci- 
dent and the Burlington claim agent hastened to Stanton to 
square the matter. The agent learned that the horse had be- 
longed to an old Swede farmer named Peterson, and at once 
drove out to see him about it. 'Mr. Peterson,' remarked the 
claim agent, 'I've come out here to settle with you for the horse 
that was killed by one of our engines. I have learned that your 
horse was a very breechy animal and that it jumped the right- 
of-way fence and wandered upon our tracks. Now, Mr. Pe- 
terson, we could go into court and prove contributory neglig- 
ence, malicious trespass and breach of the peace on the part of 
your horse, but we do not care to have any litigation. We are 
willing to settle this matter out of court if possible.' 'Ay tank 
we make settlement pretty quick,' said the old farmer, 'I ban 
wanton dat old boss killed for yar. Ay tank you have pooty 
gude. Ay pay you two dollar.' The claim agent was thun- 
der struck. 'Pay us for killing your horse?' he exclaimed. 
'Ay tank you earned dat money.' 'Mr. Peterson,' said the 
claim agent in an awe-struck tone of voice, 'That is the first 
worthless horse the Burlington Railroad ever killed. It has 
always been our misfortune to kill Morgans, Hambletonians, 
Clydesdales and Percherons. With your permission I will have 



EARLY INCIDENTS 181 

that horse's hide stuffed and placed in our museum of curiosities 

and we must have your photograph; and when you want to 

travel through any point reached by our lines, let me know and 

we will carry you free of charge and feel under obligation 

» »» 
to you . 

WASHTUB A DEADLY WEAPON. 
According to an indictment in our District Court, this useful 
household utensil is so styled. Undoubtedly many a poor wo- 
man, in an effort to protect helpless ones under her care, and 
to keep soul and body together, pressed by necessity, has come 
to her death through exhausting labor at the washtub, but it is 
not generally classed as a deadly weapon. However, it was so 
designated by the District Attorney in a certain criminal prose- 
cution wherein a certain party was charged with an assault with 
mtent to commit great bodily injury. The men had quarrelled 
and engaged in a personal encounter. The defendant was 
thrown, his head coming in contact with the edge of a tub, 
making an ugly wound. The indictment was something like 
the following: "The defendant did then and there wilfully, 

maliciously and with malice aforethought, assault 

with a certain deadly weapon, to-wit: a washtub." 

A TENDERFOOT. 
About 1858, a man by the name of Bowen, a tenderfoot, 
observing the lack of improvements and the forlorn appearance 
of the country, inquired of one of the settlers, John Bolt, the 
reason for the lack of enterprise and why everything seemed 
to be at a standstill. The answer was given without hesitation : 
"Stranger, there is something about this country that has a 
tendency to make a man lazy. This feeling will come on him 
in about two years, and in five years he will steal." He then 
referred to the universal custom of getting timber and wood from 
land owned by the railroad company and speculators with no 
expectation of paying for it excepting by indirectly enhancing 



182 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

the value of their lands by building bridges and school houses 
and maintaining courts. The pioneers would respect the rights 
of each other, for they were bound together in the fellowship 
of common sympathy in what at the time was considered hard- 
ships. 

FEVER AND AGUE. 

One of the serious obstacles in the way of the early settlers 
in building their homeo and making improvements, was the 
prevalence of the malady, chills and fever, or the shaking ague, 
rendering them unfit for hard labor. The cause of this condi- 
tion was due to the malaria that came from the rotting, over- 
turned prairie sod. Old and young were brought under its 
baneful influence and held in its grasp for weeks and months. 

The premonitory symptoms of fever and ague was a chilly 
sensation creeping along the spine, a warning of what was to 
follow. The next movement was to get into the sunshine or 
near artificial heat. But this was no help. The teeth would 
chatter, then the whole frame would be convulsed with an 
uncontrollable, spasmodic action so violent as to cause the pots, 
kettles and tinware to vibrate, if within the sphere of its influ- 
ence. This paroxysm would last for an hour or two, followed 
by joint-torturing pains and a fever which, for its intensity, is 
indescribable. The fever would, in time, gently and entirely 
subside to give time for the renewal of the first attack, which 
would occur periodically every twenty-four or forty-eight hours. 
During the summer and autumn seasons, the ague was more 
prevalent than in the spring and winter, but its baneful effects 
would last the entire year. Its only antidote in those days 
was quinine and whiskey. The former, a staple article of 
commerce, was a necessity in every family and was taken in 
heroic doses. Gradually the disease became less prevalent 
as the country became improved, so that today a real case of 
the old-time "shakes" is a rarity. 



EARLY INCIDENTS 183 

EARLY ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. 

R. S. Hanley, the first mayor of Red Oak, administered jus- 
tice in accordance with the demands of the period. An offen- 
der was brought before him who had lingered too long at the 
wine. The man's attorney claimed in defense that his client 
was not intoxicated but sick, which the client proceeded to 
prove by "feeding the fishes" in the mayor's presence. The 
mayor immediately ordered him to jail and the next morning 
fined him ten dollars for "puking on the court." Upon pay- 
ment, he was discharged. 

"SINGLE TAX" IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 

The Henry George theory of single land tax was put to a 
practice test in Montgomery County long before that noted 
man was known to fame. In proof of this, one has only to 
examine the assessor's books in the first decade of our history. 
He will there discover that it was the invariable custom to 
list all of the land belonging to resident or non-resident owners 
at the same price. They did not take into account the en- 
hanced value caused by the improvements made thereon. They 
reasoned that the labor and skill required to enhance its value, 
such as buildings, fences, trees, etc., should not, under existing 
circumstances, be taxed for the reason that such taxation was 
in the nature of a penalty upon industry and had a tendency 
to retard improvements, and that all their surplus energy should 
be spent in building bridges across streams and in erecting 
schoolhouses on the hilltops. While they were law-abiding 
citizens and had a wholesome respect for authority, they be- 
came judges in equity upon their own acts and justified them- 
selves on the ground that self preservation was the first law to 
obey and first to be obeyed — after that the laws of the state. 
The ideal was at last gradually merged into the actual. This 
rule of reform met the fate of every innovation upon long estab- 
lished custom, and the laws of the state as laid down in the 
"Blue Book," a cheap edition of the Iowa Statutes, were read 
and obeyed. 



CHAPTER XXII. 



ANOTHER CHAPTER OF EARLY INCIDENTS. 
A COLD WINTER IN 1866. 

"The winter of 1866-7 was the coldest I ever saw," said 
E. P. Milner of Sherman Township in a newspaper interview. 
"Early in December, 1 866, I killed a lot of hogs and with two 
teams, Aaron Milner driving one and myself the other, we 
hauled fresh pork, 8,800 pounds, to Denver. Very little 
money was made on the pork, but we came out even. 

"We were fifty-six days making the round trip, and when 
we left my house in Sherman TowTiship, where I now live, 
there was about eight inches of snow on the ground. On our 
return the same wagon tracks in the snow were still to be 
seen. We drove right across the prairie, there being no road. 

"We were a whole week getting out of Iowa," he con- 
tinued. "There was no chance to cross at Plattsmouth, so we 
drove to Nebraska City. The ice was too thick to run the 
ferry boat and not strong enough to drive on. After waiting 
for some time we were able to get across by means of the ferry 
boat, but we were the last ones to cross. That very night the 
boat froze fast and I don't know how long it stayed so. 

"It was our intention to get in with a wagon train made up 
at Kearney, so as to have company and be freer from molesta- 
tion by Indians, but a blizzard delayed us a day and we had 
to drive fifteen miles one night after leaving Kearney to over- 
take them. 

"The cold was extreme. One night we slept in a sod house 
in which there was a fair fireplace. We had a good fire all 




ARMSTED MILNER— The first County Surveyor. 
Came to county in 1855. 



HON. THOMAS WEIDMAN— Was born in New 
York, 1838. Came to the county in 1856. 
Ex-State Senator. 




EPHRAM P. MILNER— An early settler. The 
principal factor in founding the Corn and 
Stock Judging School at Red Oak. 



MR. HENRY C. BINNS— Settled near Page 
county line in 1854. A large land holder and 
successful business man. See chapter on 
"Early Experience." 





WM. COZAD, of Grant Township — Came to county 
in 1854 when a boy. 



WAYNE STENNETT— Founder of Stennett. Now 
in his 75th year. Resident of Sherman town- 
ship since 1S54. 




CHARLES STENNETT, of Villisca -Came to 
county in 1854. 



JOHN NORCROSS— A long time resident and 
stockman of Douglas township. 



EARLY INCIDENTS 185 

night, lying wrapped in our blankets in front of it on the dirt 
floor. In the morning the ice was two inches thick in a water 
bucket that stood not more than three feet from the fire. There 
was ice in a thirty-foot well and we had to drop an iron weight 
tied to a rope down into the well before we could draw water 
sufficient to water our mules. 

"While travelling near Julesburg, Colo., we saw one morn- 
ing two "sun dogs" that never disappeared during the entire 
day and at sundown the "dogs" formed a corona over the sun 
and made as perfect a rainbow as I ever saw. 

"At one point on the route we were overtaken by a band of 
Pawnee Indians. A terrific blizzard was blowing at the time. 
We were able to get shelter at a ranch, but the Indians slept 
out of doors in the snow, apparently not suffering a particle 
from the cold. 

"On our return trip we found the Missouri river frozen over 
so we could drive across at Nebraska City. It was nearly 
night when we got there, but for fear something might happen 
to break the ice up before morning we crossed at once and 
found a place to stay over night in Iowa. 

"After getting back into Montgomery County we had an 
experience in crossing Walnut creek, near the Wax place. 
The hill leading to the creek was very steep and a perfect glare 
of ice. Our mules had worn out their shoes, so it was impos- 
sible to get the wagons down with the mules hitched to them. 

"After some investigation we found that we could get our 
mules down one at a time, and afterwards went to work to let 
the wagons down by attaching a chain to them and making a 
rough lock. The first wagon went down all right. The next 
one was heavier, it being loaded with our effects and provisions. 
It went down so rapidly that when it struck the bridge it upset 
and fell bottom upwards into the creek. I jumped into the ice- 
cold water which was waist deep and succeeded in saving most 
of our stuff. There was no opportunity for three or four hours 



186 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

to get to a place to put on dry clothing or to get warm, but I 
kept on moving and never felt any evil effects from the cold bath. 
"The eight w^eeks of travel in the extreme cold w^eather had 
hardened us until vv^e were like the Indians. There were weeks 
at a time when we never got near to a fire, except what we 
had in a little tin stove with which we made coffee by the 
roadside." 

A POLITICAL INCIDENT OF 1860. 

W. W. Merritt was nominee of the Republican party for 
Clerk of the District Court, but declined the nomination for 
reasons given by his friend, J. B. Packard, at a subsequent 
time. D. C. Powell, a young gentleman of fine qualities, was 
elected and made a faithful and efficient officer. His death 
while in the army was greatly lamented. Following is the 
published article of J. B. Packard in referring to Mr. Merritt's 
nomination : 

"The attempts and experiments in 'Civil Service Reform' 
which have received some attention throughout the country 
of late, may have had their beginning in Montgomery county. 
This cannot be denied on account of the awkwardness of the 
attempts, for all beginnings as a rule are awkward. The com- 
mencement was upon Mr. Merritt. He was the nominated 
candidate for County Clerk, but upon examination made be- 
fore the day of election, it was found that his view of the Spirit- 
ual Government of the Universe, and of the existence, spiritual 
interests and destiny of mankind was incorrect, he being too 
near-sighted or cross-eyed to see it right, and was compelled to 
withdraw from the canvass on account of this obliquity of 
vision, which was discovered by some words that he had 
spoken. The mistake we made on the start came very near 
throwing the 'Civil Service Reform' off the track. The count- 
try changed, for we have elected Mr. Merritt several times 
since that, to the same office, although it is not perceptible that 
his vision has been reformed. Mr. Powell was thereupon 
elected to the office. J. B. P." 



EARLY INCIDENTS 187 

A VISION OF DRY BONES. 

In the spring of the year 1857, the writer, a footman travel- 
ing from Topeka, Kansas, on what was known as the Jim 
Lane Emigrant Route to Nebraska City., Nebr., crossed what 
had been the great route of travel from the Missouri River at 
St. Joe to the far off Eldorado, California. Here, at this time 
of year, horses, oxen and mules could subsist on the native 
grasses — a fact which lessened to some extent the difficulties 
of traveling. One caravan was seen, averaging four teams 
abreast, hauling great wagons laden with provisions, tools and 
camp equipment. Necessarily, there was great hardship and 
much suffering and many beasts perished. Some men fell by 
the way and were buried by their companions in shallow and 
unmarked graves. The animals were left the prey of the 
scavangers of the prairies — the prairie wolves. A man, met 
by chance at the intersection of these routes, called attention to 
the blackened prairie, recently burned over, and to a lighter 
streak plainly marking the route to the west. He explained 
that the light color to be seen as far as the eye could reach was 
caused by the bleached bones of animals and men who per- 
ished by the way in that great hegira. 

The foregoing was not the only route traveled in that great 
rush for gold and during the subsequent discovery of this 
precious metal near Pike's Peak, Colorado. The main route 
through Southern Iowa was through the tier of counties north 
of Montgomery County, crossing the Missouri River at Coun- 
cil Bluffs and following up the Platte River. Some part of the 
travel, however, was diverted southward, passing through our 
county and crossing the Missouri River at Plattsmouth and 
Nebraska City, where a ferry boat was in operation. Fre- 
quently large herds of animals were forced into the water and 
compelled to swim. A daring cowboy with his bronco would 
plunge into the river and the herd would follow, the strong 



188 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

current often carrying them down a long distance before they 
could make a landing on the opposite shore. 

At all times of the day, prairie schooners, as the canvas- 
covered wagons were called, could be seen trundling along on 
their circuitous way, following the divide, or ridges, from Sciola 
to Carr's Point on Walnut Creek, the usual camping places 
being near some stream. They traveled usually in groups and 
in the summer season, near the crossing of the Nodaway, Nishna 
and Walnut, it was no unusual sight to see men, young or mid- 
dle aged — seldom was a woman among them — gathering fuel, 
preparing food and caring for the animals, presenting a quaint 
and lively scene. The evening would be enlivened by the 
strains of violin or other musical instrument. In the morning 
after breakfast there would be a bustling time in preparing to 
start on or, to use the term generally employed, to "roll out" 
from two to four yokes of oxen hitched to stout wagons. 

On one occasion the writer remembers a procession over a 
mile long leaving camp on the Tarkio, the forward teams hav- 
ing passed Frankfort before the last ones left camp. They 
v/ere a jolly set, free from care and with bright visions of the 
future. One of them was driving a long string of oxen hauling 
an immense load. He was flourishing a long lash at the end 
of what appeared to be a fish pole and merrily whistling the 
tune, "The Girl I Left Behind Me." Suddenly, and with a 
countenance as sober as a judge, he inquired, "Stranger, is 
this the road to California?" He was reminded that following 
the star of empire, surely westward was the way. 



The first white man known to have been buried on Iowa 
soil was a young soldier of the Lewis and Clark Expedition up 
the Missouri River in 1 804. His name is Charles Floyd and 
his grave is on a bluff near Sioux City which is now called 
Floyd Bluff. It was marked by Captan Clark by planting a 



EARLY INCIDENTS 189 

red cedar post. A monument one hundred feet high and cost- 
ing $20,000 now marks his resting place and a manuscript 
journal kept by Sergeant Floyd has recently been found. Lit- 
tle did his sorrowful companions realize that that cedar post 
would in a little more than a century grow into a monument 
of commanding proportions in his honor. 

The first grave of a white person in Montgomery County 
is at the corner of the four townships of Frankfort, Pilot Grove, 
Sherman and Red Oak. It was at this point that Mrs. Haeff- 
lick, the wife of a pioneer just arrived in the county from the 
East, was buried in June, 1 854. A roughly constructed coffin 
was made from a wagon box — the only boards obtainable for 
such a purpose. Her grave was made in what now is a public 
highway and is unknown and unmarked. There is scarcely 
a person in the county now living who was conversant with her 
sad history. 

PIONEER SAWMILLS. 

Henry and Wm. Shank built the first sawmill on Red Oak 
Creek in 1857 near where Seventh street crosses the same. 
The single sash saw was propelled by an old fashioned water 
wheel and the neighbors could get sawing done for 50 cents a 
hundred. This mill fulfilled its mission, notwithstanding the 
fact that at times it had to be thrown out of gear to get suffi- 
cient motion to work its way through the log. One of its 
patrons facetiously suggested that it could be easily changed 
into a hazelnut huller. It was a hardy pioneer in its chosen 
field and was put out of commission one day during a surging 
flood after about eight years' service. 

The reservoir was not large but it was deep and people on 
horseback crossed back and forth on the dam. On one oc- 
casion a townsman who had been vainly trying to catch his 
horse — his patience nearly exhausted in a fruitless attempt to 
capture the brute — took the horse at a decided disadvantage 



190 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

and cornered him so that he could not escape from a narrow 
peninsula extending into the mill pond without either running 
over his master or indulging in a plunge bath. After an in- 
stant's reflection he chose the latter course, thinking — if a horse 
thinks — that since the place further down had been crossed so 
many times, he could cross anywhere with perfect safety. After 
one jump, he was lost to sight and bubbles rose to the surface 
to denote the place where he disappeared. When he emerged 
on the opposite bank and looked back, it was with such a look 
of astonishment and chagrin as is seldom seen in the countenance 
of that noble animal. 

Another sawmill, propelled by steam, was built by Isaac 
Hendrie in the fall of 1857, the machinery being shipped up 
the Missouri River. After four or five years, a grist mill was 
added and became a very useful improvement to the entire 
community. The patrons came for twenty-five miles or more to 
mill. The financial crash of 1857 crippled all improvements 
and things were at a standstill. There being but little money 
in circulation, the business was conducted almost entirely by 
exchange of products. In the millers' day book, found among 
resurrected records, are the following sample entries: 

Credit 

87|/2lbs. Beef 3c per lb. 

18 lbs. Buckwheat Flour 36c 

80 ft. Plank in log 80c 

6 Chickens 60c 

Paid Doctor Bill of R. D. Sperry by or- 
der on Mill. 

Cut one cord of wood 50c 

By 1 1-3 Cord of Wood . .$1.40 

Bunnell & Bolt, one yoke of 

oxen $52.00 



EARLY INCIDENTS 191 

People purchased lumber, giving in payment a given quantity 
of lumber in a log which was sold for such things as the people 
had to spare, which in turn was paid to the helpers in the mill. 
It was a current saying that cottonwood lumber in logs or sawed 
into lumber was a legal tender for all private debts. It was 
the custom of one Sam Campbell to find a tree "out on the bare 
prairie," meaning wherever he could find it, and sell the logs, 
without delivery, to the miller, who would employ another to 
haul them to the mill. 

On one occasion, this question became mixed up in local 
politics. One Col. Sharp, a man from Mills Co., was candi- 
date for the Legislature. Although blind in one eye and pock 
marked, he was of commanding presence, and called around 
him eight or ten voters of Red Oak and addressed them. 
Among other things, he said, "I am agent for the owner of 
this land (pointing to Red Oak Grove, now known as Hebard's 
Grove, then covered by many red oak trees) and I understand 
that much of the lumber that enters into the construction of 
these buildings — a few structures on the square — was taken 
from my principal's land. I did not come here to make you 
any trouble, but I think that under all of the circumstances, it 
would be a gracious act on your part to vote for me." I be- 
lieve they all forgave him for his unkind insinuations and rolled 
him as they would a stolen log, into a snug seat in the Legisla- 
ture. They were not theives, but were foragers by necessity. 
Non-residents did not receive the same consideration at their 
hands as residents who were compelled to endure all of the 
discomforts of life to enhance the value of their holdings while 
the non-residents were perhaps living a life of ease and indulg- 
ence elsewhere. The law of social obligation was suspended 
until all alike should have its benefits. It is not the province 
of the historian to decide questions of morals but rather to 
state facts. 



192 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

REPUBLICAN STATE CONVENTION AT IOWA 
CITY 1860 AND AFFAIRS AT FRANKFORT. 
Wm. Dunn and the writer were selected as delegates to the 
Republican State Convention at Iowa City in 1860. It was 
customary for delegates in this and adjoining counties to meet 
at some convenient place to hold congressional and district con- 
ventions and journey by carriage to state convetions, consuming 
many days in the trip and usually meeting the same persons 
from year to year, and mingling at the convention with men of 
state-wide reputation — Kasson, Nourse, Kirkwood, O'Connor, 
Grinnell, Allison and others equally noted. Lincoln's nomina- 
tion for president was enthusiastically ratified in speeches by 
Stewart L. Woodford and Judge Porter of New York. The 
county was in a ferment. A letter was received from J. B. 
Packard concerning happenings at Frankfort. He said, 
"Things are wearing away here in their usual style. The folks 
all left the county yesterday for Pike's Peak. I expect they 
are getting alarmed for fear that the Southerners with their 
negroes are going to dam up the Mississippi and overflow the 
northern country again as it was in Noah's time. Anyway, 
they are streaking it up the mountains on some account." Then 
follows a list of them, adding, "We live in desolate borders 
and have to wait for the day of redemption." 



Mrs. Sophronia Dean Shank, widow of the late H. C. Shank, 
of Red Oak, taught the first school in the county in August 
1 856. This was before the winter school in the same year in 
Jackson Township. The school was in a log cabin near Cli- 
max. The day of opening the school, there was absolutely no 
furniture whatever. A new sawmill had just commenced 
operation and the school had to wait until some slabs could 
be obtained for seats. These seats were made by boring holes 
through them to insert legs for support. All of the seats were 
of the same height and placed around the room. 




ELISHA N. TEFT, Deceased— Early settler of 
Sherman township. 



CHAS. E. RICHARDS, Deceased— A distin- 
guished member ef the bar. Came to county 
in 1867. 





C. W. MERCER, Deceased, of Sherman township 
— A resident of the county from the earliest 
period of its history. 



REV. B. M. HALLAND, Deceased— Founder of 
Stanton. Came to county in 1869. 




DR. J. A. J. MARTIN — Came to Red Oak, 1869. 
Pioneer practicing physician of city. 



J. A. HYSHAM — Early settler. Ex-Mayor of Red 
Oak and successful business man. 




R. M. ROBERTS— Came to the county in 1S66. 
Was elected Clerk of District Court in 1868. 



CHARLES BOLT— Came to the county in 1855. 
Was the second Sheriff of the county. 



EARLY INCIDENTS 193 

The first regular train came into Red Oak on November 
13 th, 1869, and on that train were Mrs. H. A. McFatrich, 
Mrs. T. H. Alexander, Mr. W. H. Evans, L. H. Tonner and 
S. A. Henry and wife. Mr. T. H. Alexander and Dr. H. 
A. McFatrich arrived in Red Oak in August previous, and 
erected the old store building on Coolbaugh street, which was 
first occupied by Alexander & Carr and S. A. Henry & Co., 
on Lot 2, Block 43. The building was erected by Geo. West, 
now of Los Angeles, Cal., and the lumber was hauled from 
Corning, costing nearly one cent a pound. 



From 1851 to 1861, the county was under the rule of an 
autocracy consisting of a single officer called the County Judge. 
Those who served as county judge were Amos G. Lowe and 
James R. Horton. Before 1 85 1 , in the organized counties of 
the state, the county government was under the triumvirate of 
three officers known as the Board of County Commissioners. 
Their duties were identical with those of the Board of Supervis- 
ors of the present day. 



The political history of the county dates from the regular 
election of August, 1853. The names of the voters are as 
follows: John Ross, James Ross, R. W. Rogers, James 
Carlisle, G. D. Connally, J. G. Romine, Wm. Nelson, Wells 
Sager, A. G. Lowe, Wm. Hannaway, J. H. Sager, Chauncy 
Sager, Robert Dunn, Samuel C. Dunn, A. Dunn, George P. 
West, John Harris and J. T. Patterson. Twelve of them were 
Democrats and six Whigs. 



First tax list of Montgomery County, Iowa, being for the 
year 1854: 



194 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

R. W. Rogers $ 4.15 

Wm. Wilson 3.39 

G. D. Connelly 10.47 

I. N. Delaney 4.99 

John W. Patterson 6.39 

James Stafford 4.55 

Wm. A. Shank 3.32 

Wells Sager 2.55 

Mark Reese 4.73 

Ruth Chalfout 1 .32 

Wesley Hall 3.48 

Amos G. Lowe 12.40 

Thos. C. Means 3.75|/2 

John Ross 10.59 

Chauncey Sager 7.37 

Thos. Carlisle 2.50 

Elias Patterson 7. 1 7|/2 

David Stipe 2.50 

James Carlisle 6.60 

James Ross 6.43 

Wm. Findley 8.85 

G. P. West 21.85 

Elizabeth Means 1.88 

James Knox 5.67 

James Shank 6.56 

Sihon Reese 2.76 

J. T. Patterson 4.73 

John Harris 9.671/^ 

Wm. Stipe 13.54 

Wm. C. Means 19.731/2 

Samuel Dunn 23.85 

John Gilmore 9.3 1 

Layfayette Sager 3.32 

Joseph Carlisle 2.50 

Isaac Conner 2.05 

I, Amos G. Lowe, County Judge of Montgomery County, 

Iowa, do hereby authorize John Gilmore collector of said county 

to collect the within tax list. 

AMOS G. LOWE, County Judge. 



CHAPTER XXIII 



THE MEDICAL FRATERNITY IN THE COUNTY. 

Medicine, next to religion, is, perhaps, the most exalted 
subject that can occupy the mind of man. By "medicine" is 
meant the science of disease and the art of healing. Next to 
a care for the soul, the preservation of the body is most import- 
ant and holds undisputed place in the economy of nature. The 
nobility of the healing art has been recognized and its superior 
dignity has been acknowledged from the most remote periods 
in the history of man. 

In the early morning of the world, when medicine as a science 
was utterly unknown, and consisted simply of a compilation of 
facts based upon experience, traditional and acquired, the offices 
of the priest and the physician were united, theology and med- 
icine being considered correlative subjects; and even so late as 
the history of the English speaking people of this country, the 
practice of medicine was largely in the hands of the clergy. 
Happily, now, however, the two professions are entirely separ- 
ate and distinct — the members of each recognizing that there 
is enough in their own chosen field of labor to claim their un- 
divided attention. 

Medicine, in common with all sciences depending for appre-- 
ciation upon high intellectual development, has been raised 
from the condition of a mere pretension, resting upon a simple 
collection of dogmatic aphorisms, to the honored place which 
it holds today. Up until the close of the eighteenth century, 
the profession was, to a great extent, groping in the dark, with 
only here and there a gleam of light breaking through the thick 
mists of error and falsity in which it was enveloped. The dis- 



196 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

coveries of Harvey and Jenner, standing out as beacon lights 
to the scientific workers and professional explorers in the won- 
derful realms of medicine and surgery, infused new zeal in the 
students of each, which has resulted in untold good for the 
world. Boerhave, the most celebrated physician of the eigh- 
teenth century, at his death bequeathed to the profession an 
elegant volume, on the title page of which it was affirmed that 
the book contained all the secrets pertaining to medical science. 
An inspection of the work disclosed the fact that all the pages 
except one were blank, and on that one was written, "Keep 
the head cool, the feet warm and the bowels open." This 
legend of Boerhave illustrates, not inaptly, the requirements of 
medical art a century ago. 

Slowly has the art of administering tested samples for relief, 
in accordance with experience in similar cases, advanced, step 
by step, through the maze of error and speculation, to the con- 
dition of a rational system of cure, founded upon an intimate 
knowledge of the animal machine in its normal state and its 
aberrations in disease. While the medicine of today rests its 
claims as a science upon fixed and immutable principles, it has 
not yet reached that degree of perfection or harmony of com- 
pleteness which it is destined to reach in the years that are com- 
ing on. Recent research has, perhaps, developed the import- 
ance of no branch of medicine more than that which relates to 
hygiene and the prevention of disease. The knowledge of the 
profession is constantly increasing and the application of this 
knowledge to the prevention as well as to the treatment of dis- 
ease, is becoming day by day more rational and more satis- 
factory. 

The aim of the true physician is not primarily the accumula- 
tion of wealth or personal aggrandizement, but the advancement 
of science, the perfection of his art and the emancipation of 
mankind from the bondage of disease. No one can afford to 
allow himself to be governed by self interest alone — least of 



MEDICAL FRATERNITY 197 

all can the physician safely do so; and while his responsibilities 
are great, who has higher incentives to noble action or grander 
opportunities for doing good? His mission is to prolong human 
life and rescue it from the thraldom of disease and suffering; to 
increase life's pleasures and to diminish its pains; and to stay 
the onward march of death-dealing pestilence. 

In learning, ability and skill; in moral character, in willing- 
ness to accept responsibility, and in that self-sacrificing devotion 
to duty which should characterize all those whose lives are 
dedicated to "the noble art," the members of the medical frater- 
nity of Montgomery County, Iowa, past and present, will com- 
pare favorably with their fellow practitioners anyAvhere else in 
the state or country at large. 

From the best information obtainable, it seems that the first 
physician to practice in the county was Dr. Amasa Bond, who 
came from Hamilton County, Indiana, settled in Frankfort in 
1 856, and died and was buried there the next year. Following 
him, although not in the order named, perhaps, Drs. Adair, 
Glover, and Childs settled at Frankfort. Among those living 
in Red Oak who first practiced in the county were Drs. Pur- 
cell, Jay, Schenck, Whitney, Wheelock, Holmes, Hanley and 
Rufus Sperry. The last named physician was born and re- 
ceived his education in the state of New York. In 1860 he 
came to Iowa and settled at Red Oak five years later. Dr. 
Sperry was Montgomery County's first coroner and he was also 
the first physician and surgeon to the County Poor Farm. 

Dr. H. A. McFatrich, a graduate of a Cincinnati College of 
Medicine (Eclectic), was born in Pennsylvania in 1825. After 
practicing several years in Monroe, Wis., and later at Mon- 
mouth, 111., he settled in Red Oak in 1869, where he con- 
tinued the practice of his profession until 1897, when he re- 
moved to Denver, Colo., to make his home with his daughter. 
He died May 27th, 1906, and was brought to Red Oak for 
burial. 



198 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

Dr. E. B. Young was born in Indiana in 1 850 and graduated 
from Rush Medical College in 1871. After practicing a few 
years at Knoxville, Iowa, he came to Red Oak in 1 878, where 
he followed the practice of his profession until his death, which 
occurred in 1892. 

Dr. James W. Martin, born August 21, 1 83 1 in Alexandria, 
Ky., and a graduate of Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, 
came to Red Oak in 1870, where he soon had a large and 
lucrative practice. He had the reputation of being one of the 
best physicians — as Dr. Young had the reputation of being one 
of the best surgeons — in Southwestern Iowa. 

Joseph Binney, M. D., was born in Boston, Mass., July 19, 
1847. He came to this county in 1874; in 1878 he graduated 
from the Indiana College of Medicine, and, settling at Red 
Oak the same year, was for many years a well known practi- 
tioner there. 

J. B. Hatton, M. D., a native of Missouri, practiced medi- 
cine in the county about seventeen years. In 1 889 he removed 
to Des Moines and died there a few years ago. Dr. Hatton 
enjoyed a large practice in the county for many years and for 
a time after his removal to Des Moines, he occupied a chair 
in a medical college there. 

The following members of the profession are at present 
actively engaged in practice in the county : 

At Red Oak: 

Francis M. Hiett, M. D., born in Tippecanoe Co., Indiana, 
graduate of Rush Medical College, class of 1865, came to 
Red Oak May 12, 1875. Dr. Hiett was a contract surgeon 
in the army at New Albany, Ind., in 1862-3. 

O. S. Reiley, M. D., also a native of Indiana, was bom at 
Greensburg. Dr. Reiley's medical education was received at 
Keokuk, Iowa, where he graduated March 2, 1880. He ar- 
rived in Red Oak October 26 of the same year and has been 
in practice there ever since. 



MEDICAL FRATERNITY 199 

Samuel Ransom Kreidler, M. D. (Homeopathic), is a native 
of Luzerne Co., Pennsylvania, and a graduate of Hahnemann 
Medical College of Chicago, class of 1873. He came to the 
county and settled in Red Oak in 1873. 

Hiram S. Rogers, M. D., also a native of Pennsylvania, vv^as 
born in Fayette Co., Jan. 2, 1844. Dr. Rogers received his 
medical education at Keokuk, Iowa, Ann Arbor, Mich., and 
at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Chicago. Dates 
of graduations, Keokuk, 1876; Chicago, 1886. He came to 
Red Oak April 1, 1886. 

A. A. Ashby, M. D., is a graduate of Rush Medical Col- 
lege, 1883. He arrived in the county in 1868 and has been 
practicing in Red Oak twenty-tw^o years. Dr. Ashby vv^as 
born in Carroll County, Illinois. 

Wm. S. Reiley, M. D., is a native of Indiana, born in 1871 
at Greensburg. He first attended the Marion Sims College of 
Medicine, St. Louis, Mo., and later the Omaha Medical Col- 
lege, from which he graduated April 4, 1895. He has been 
in the county since 1 880, and has been practicing in Red Oak 
during the last ten years. Dr. Reiley was elected Mayor of 
Red Oak in 1903 and again in 1905. 

Frank W. Smith, M. D., was born at Marengo, Iowa. 
He graduated from the medical department of the Iowa State 
University, March 14, 1894, coming to Red Oak May 1, 
1895, where he has since been engaged in the practice of his 
profession. 

Rebecca Hanna, M. D., was born in Lawnrence County, 
Indiana, and graduated from the medical department of the 
Iowa State University March 4, 1 874. After graduation, Dr. 
Hanna first settled at Burlington, Iowa. She has practiced 
twenty-seven years in Montgomery Co. 



200 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

Lester Olin Thompson, M, D., received his medical educa- 
tion at Cleveland Homeopathic College, taking his degree from 
that institution in 1882. He came to Red Oak November 
16. 1898. 

T. R. Butchart, M. D., was born in Canada, graduated 
from the Hahnemann Medical College, Chicago, in 1895, and 
came to Red Oak in 1899. Dr. Butchart's wife, Eugenia 
May Butchart, is associated with him in the practice of the 
healing art. 

John M. Seabloom, M. D., a native of Sweden, was born in 
1873. He graduated from the College of Physicians & Sur- 
geons, St. Louis, Mo., Nov. 1, 1904, and settled in Red Oak 
in January of the next year. 

J. A. J. Martin, M. D., a graduate of Indiana Medical Col- 
lege 1 875 and of College of Physicians & Surgeons of Chicago, 
1885, was born in Indiana, May 13, 1843. Coming to Red 
Oak in 1869, he was associated with his brother, J. W., in the 
practice of medicine until 1877, when he went to Dakota. 
Returning eight years later, he has been engaged in the practice 
of his profession at Red Oak since that time. 

W. J. Martin, M. D., a son of James W., was born at Leb- 
anon, Ind., Sept. 26, 1869. In October, 1870, he came to 
Red Oak with his father and grew to manhood there. In 1 903 
he graduated from the College of Physicians, St. Louis, com- 
ing to Red Oak in June 1 904. 

Louis A. Thomas, M. D., was born of English parents at 
Dunkirk, France, Jan. 3, 1862, and came to the United States 
twenty years later. His medical education was received at 
College of Comp. Med., Chicago, from which he graduated 
in 1 889, and in London, England, where he took a post grad- 
uate course in 1897. He was made a member of the Iowa 
State Board of Medical Examiners in 1893. After seven 



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EX-SENATOR J. M. JUNKIN— A leading member 
of the Bar of Southwestern Iowa. 



R. W. BEESON— A leading member of the Red 
Oak Bar and distinguished in his profession 
in Western Iowa. 





CHARLES H. LANE — Who commenced mercan- 
tile business in Red Oak in 1856. 



W. MANFORD MOORE— An early educator, 
now County Superintendent in Mills county. 
Author of chapter in this book, "Early Life 
in.the Forks." 





HON. J. S. BOISE— Ex-Legislator and for many 
years a prominent citi/.en of Viilisca. 



DR. H. N. McNAUGHTON — Identified with the 
history of Viilisca from an early date. 





AMOS P. WEST— An old time banker and an 
important factor in the business and social 
life of Viilisca. 



\V. H. THOMASON— Resident of Jackson towr 
ship since 1854. 



MEDICAL FRATERNITY 201 

years of practice at Woodbury, Iowa, he came to Red Oak in 
1898. In April 1899. he was elected Health Officer of the 
city of Red Oak. Dr. Thomas is also President of the Iowa 
Association of Health Officers. 

William B. Lawrence, M. D., a native of Pennsylvania, was 
born in Beaver County of that state, Dec. 28, 1855. He at- 
tended the Medical College of Ohio at Cincinnati and the 
Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, graduating from the 
latter March 29, 1884. After practicing at Winchester, Kan., 
five and one-half years, he removed to Red Oak Dec. 5, 1889. 

Velura E. Powell, M. D., a native of Ohio, born 1874, 
is a graduate of Michigan University, medical department, class 
of 1902. She came to Red Oak one year ago and is medical 
superintendent of the Powell Home for Backward Children. 

Practitioners whose homes are in Villisca are as follows : 
M. N. McNaughton, M. D., who was born in Caledonia, 
N. Y., April 1 , 1849, graduated from the Buffalo Medical Uni- 
versity, Feb. 22, 1 868, and has been practicing thirty-six years 
in Montgomery Co. 

G. T. Rumbaugh, M. D., is a native of Iowa, his place of 
birth being Hawleyville. He came to the county in 1867, 
and is a graduate of the Kentucky School of Medicine, class 
of 1890, He has also taken post graduate courses at New 
York and Chicago. 

Willis A. Lomas, M. D., was born at Waukeegan, Wis., 
and received his medical education at the University of Pennsyl- 
vania and Rush Medical College, graduating from the latter 
May 1 896. He came to Montgomery County July 1 , 1 896, 
settling at Villisca. 

W. W. West, M. D., was born at Athens, Mo. He re- 
ceived his diploma from K. M. College in March 1898 and 
arrived in Montgomery County November 1 90 1 . 



202 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

Jay Clark Cooper, M. D., was bom at Quasqueton, Iowa; 
graduated from the University of Iowa April 1902, and came 
to the county in 1905. 

Frank S. Williams, M. D., was born near Villisca. He 
graduated from Rush Medical College, class of 1901 , and, after 
two years' practice in Kansas, settled in Villisca in the fall 
of 1903. 

At Elliott are the following : 

A. Carson, M. D., born in Ohio; graduate of Rush Medical 
College, class of 1 890 ; has been practicing in the county fifteen 
years. 

L. A. Baldwin, M. D., a native of West Virginia, graduated 
at Rush Medical College June 15, 1904, and settled at Elliott 
the following year. 

Dr. C. W. Manker, who practiced many years in the county, 
died at his home in Elliott a few months ago. 

At Stanton are Drs. Hines, Esbjorn and Price. Dr. Hines 
is a native of Ohio and came to the county in 1875. Dr. 
Trulson, who settled at Stanton about fifteen years ago, and 
who had a large clientele, died last year from malignant dip- 
theria contracted from a patient whom he was treating for that 
dread malady. 

At Milford are Drs. Montgomery and Scott. James W. 
Scott was born in Noble County, Ohio, and graduated from 
the Iowa State University in 1873. He came to the county in 
1871 and has been practicing at his present location for twenty- 
six years. 

There is at present, and for several years there has been, a 
flourishing County Medical Society, of which a majority of the 
physicians in the county are members. 

This, in brief — and very brief — is a necessarily incomplete 
and manifestly imperfect history of the medical profession of 
the county; brief because of limited space; incomplete because 
of a dearth of reliable data; and imperfect because of the per- 
sonal limitations of the writer. 



CHAPTER XXIV 



THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY BAR. 

To adequately and fairly treat of the Montgomery County 
Bar from the beginning of its history to date is not here at- 
tempted, for adequate biography of its members would of 
itself fill a volume. Although the practice of law in the county 
has been connected with few noted cases, there have been 
among the legal fraternity, men of ability and learning, men 
of commanding influence and of state-wide reputation — an 
honor to the profession and to the county. Brief mention has 
been made in this volume concerning non-resident lawyers 
whose custom it was to accompany the judge to the several 
places of holding court. Some of these lawyers have been men 
of influence in a wider field. 

The following lawyers for a shorter or longer time resided 
in Frankfort at the time when it was the county seat: 

M. V. B. Bennett, subsequently Editor of the "Copperhead" 
— a newspaper published at Ottumwa, Iowa, during the war. 
Finding that his newspaper enterprise was not a success, he 
entered the field as a temperance lecturer in Kansas and other 
states. 

A. P. Moorehouse, who opened up an office in Frankfort 
and commenced the practice of law, afterwards becoming gov- 
ernor of Missouri. 

W. S. Boydson and J. B. Packard were the first lawyers to 
settle in Frankfort. The former removed to Nebraska City, 
where he engaged in freighting for the U. S. Government Supply 
in the Western Forts. 



204 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

David Ellison, a good lawyer and affable gentleman, was a 
former student in the office of Judge Gray of Des Moines. 
He joined the army and at the close of the war, with the rank 
of major, engaged in his profession at Kansas City, Mo. He 
is still living there with well earned honors. 

Wm. H. Fishback, who combined the practice of law with 
school teaching in the old court room, has been swallowed up 
somewhere in the great west. 

The late Allen Beeson became a resident of Frankfort not 
long before the removal of the county seat to Red Oak. He 
came to Red Oak, bringing his house with him, and he put 
it upon Grimes Street on Block 60. A law partnership was 
formed with B. E. A. Simonds, and this was continued for a 
brief period. For several years he was one of the leading law- 
yers of Red Oak. He finally formed a partnership with a 
prominent lawyer at Plattsmouth, Nebr. Mr. Beeson was 
an effective advocate and a particularly strong man before the 
jury. He had some of the characteristics of his brother, R. W. 
Beeson, a prominent attorney in Red Oak. These brothers, 
natives of Ohio, made for themselves a reputation for ability, 
integrity and loyalty to clients. 

Of lawyers living in Red Oak, there have been many. The 
first in point of time was the late Charles E. Richards, a young 
man from Central New York, a graduate of the Rochester, N. 
Y. University. He immediately took rank as a leading attor- 
ney in Southwestern Iowa. His college training and studious 
habits gave him an enviable reputation for close reasoning and 
logical conclusions. He had remarkable success with cases 
he carried to the higher court. In politics he was a life-long 
Democrat who refused to accept the honors his party would 
have thrust upon him. For a long time he was a partner of 
Judge J. W. Hewitt, constituting the strongest law firm in Red 
Oak and perhaps in Western Iowa. This partnership was 
dissolved only upon the death of Mr. Hewitt. At an earlier 



THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY BAR 205 

date, Mr. Richards and P. H. Good were law partners for a 
short time. Captain Good died several years ago. The mantle 
of the father, who died this year (1906), rests upon his son, 
Paul W. Richards, a young man, with a well furnished mind 
and educational equipment. 

At an early period in the history of the county, B. E. A. 
Simonds came, the trusted agent of the B. & M. R. R. for 
the sale and transfer of their lands. He was painstaking, ac- 
curate and attentive to the interests of his clients. His home 
now is in California. He is remembered especially for his 
zeal in the cause of temperance, and those engaged in the un- 
lawful traffic of intoxicants, pronounced him an enthusiast and 
a meddler. And yet, withal, he was known as a conscientious 
follower of his convictions and a gentleman. 

Forty years ago, W. F. Carlton, a young man just from his 
studies at school, came to Red Oak and opened an office. He 
was employed in such work as there was to do in the different 
county offices, taking such cases as would naturally come to 
one without experience in the presence of sharp competition. 
For a short time he was a partner of Smith McPherson, a young 
man without experience like himself. Mr. Carlton finally lo- 
cated in Spirit Lake, going there when Dickinson County was 
in its primitive state and the town of Spirit Lake a mere hamlet. 
Time, opportunity and application to business has yielded him 
a suitable reward. He is one of the solid influential men of 
that community and has been entrusted with important interests. 

The name of J. C. Cooper appears on record in cases before 
the court. He was a man of good ability, but lacking the 
essential elements of success. 

Newton Hanna, a graduate of the law department of the 
Iowa State University, turned his attention to the real estate 
business after a brief period devoted to the profession of law. 

John R. Welpton, Hanley — first mayor of Red Oak — 
and Cannon — a man past the prime of life who appeared on 



206 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

the scene for a few years — should be included in the list. All 
of these last mentioned, with the possible exception of Hanley, 
are dead. 

J. M. Bartholemew was a strong lawyer and the firm of 
Bartholemew & Nutter were the leading members of the Bar 
in the county, at one time. Bartholemew removed to South 
Dakota and served with great ability on the Supreme Bench 
of that state. 

Mr. D. B. Miller gave up the practice of law to enter a 
more lucrative occupation in which he has had phenomenal 
success. 

The late W. S. Strawn ranked among the first lawyers of 
the county. He was a tireless worker and one who mastered 
every detail of his cases. His arguments before court and jury 
were models of English composition and were the finished 
product of an able though somewhat eccentric man. He made 
for himself a name both here and later on at Omaha, of which 
all were proud. 

Z. T. Fisher and J. B. Gregg have finished their course on 
earth, leaving behind them honorable records of faithful ser- 
vice in the line of their profession. The former served as mayor 
of the City of Red Oak and as a member of the State Legisla- 
ture. 

W. M. Wright left the county when a young man — an ed- 
ucated gentleman who has made for himself an honorable name 
in Northeastern Nebraska. 

The late F. E. Pomeroy was a young man of promise, 
painstaking, conscientious, giving his clients faithful and honest 
service. He was a partner of R. W. Beeson. He was loved 
by all who knew him. 

Of the practicing attorneys now doing business who have 
not been heretofore mentioned are T. J. Hysham, a safe coun- 
sellor and attentative to important interests intrusted to him; 



THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY BAR 207 

and Edward Mills, who for a few years was a practitioner in 
Elliott. Mr. Mills also served as County Attorney and now 
resides at Red Oak. 

Of the old attorneys who resided at Villisca and had the 
greater part of the law practice there, in contiguous territory 
and in the Valley of the Nodaway — viz. J. T. Patterson, A. 
M. Walters and Wm. Redmon — none remain. Patterson is 
dead after serving as County Attorney in a Western Nebraska 
county at Rexford where he was also editor of a newspaper. 

E. C- Gibbs, a former mayor of Villisca, has taken up their 
work and is carrying it on successfully. He is an indefatig- 
able worker and has a growing practice. He has the confid- 
ence of those who know him best and since the removal of 
F. P. Greenlee from that locality to Red Oak to assume the 
duties of county attorney, he has that field largely to himself, 
though Mr. Greenlee retains most of the practice that had 
come to him there by his years of service in the capacity of 
counsellor and attorney. Mr. Greenlee has been honored by 
the county in the capacity of a legislator for the customary 
length of time. As a maker of laws, he served on important 
committees in the legislature. 

W. W. Merritt, Jr., has had a few years' practice with good 
success. His mental equipment, aided by the discipline of the 
law department of the Michigan University, from which in- 
stitution he graduated, qualified him for good and efficient 
work in his profession. 

W. C. Ratcliff, a promising young attorney, recently be- 
came a partner of R. W. Beeson, an old practitioner. 

Ralph Pringle, another young man with a thoroughly dis- 
ciplined mind, of studious habits, and a graduate of old Yale 
College, is a partner of J. M. Junkin. Mr. Junkin, the senior 
member, was born at Fairfield, Iowa, in 1 854. His boyhood 
days were spent there, but for a brief period he lived at Melrose, 
Monroe Co., where his parents resided. From Melrose, when 



208 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

a lad of nineteen years, he came to Red Oak, where he has 
since resided. He attended school at Fairfield, Red Oak and 
Iowa City, completing the law course and graduating from 
the law department of the State University in 1879, after 
which he entered upon the practice of law, winning his way 
to the front of his profession. In the same year he formed a law 
partnership with Horace E. Deemer. This partnership was 
dissolved in 1886, when Mr. Deemer was elected District 
Judge. Mr. Junkin continued his practice alone until recently, 
when he and Ralph Pringle formed a partnership. Mr. Junkin 
is Republican in politics and, being an effective public speaker, 
has been in demand as such in the county and state, especially 
in the heated campaign of 1 896. In 1 895 he was unanimously 
nominated for State Senator (Senatorial District of Montgom- 
ery and Mills Counties), was elected, and took special interest 
as a member of the Judiciary Committee in the revision of the 
code during that session. The convention called for 1899 
accorded him the courtesy of naming the delegates. He was 
elected another term in the Senate, commencing January 1 900. 
He served in all five sessions, and was chairman of the Com- 
mittee of Ways and Means from 1 900 to 1 904. 

Horace E. Deemer came to Red Oak a young man, in- 
dustrious, ambitious and eager to succeed in his chosen profes- 
sion. Fie met an old classmate in the State University of 
Iowa City, J. M. Junkin, with whom he formed a partnership 
and entered upon the practice of law in Red Oak in the fall 
of 1879. This partnership continued until his election as Dis- 
trict Judge in the year 1886. His business and professional 
success up to this time was all that could have been desired. 
His parentage and hard training in the school of experience 
fitted him to meet and surmount obstacles as they arose. He 
is of Holland descent. His great grandfather, with many of 
his people, removed to Western Pennsylvania, where he be- 
came identified with the Pennsylvania Dutch in our revolution- 




JUDGE HORACE E. DEEMER. 



THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY BAR 209 

ary period in favor of freedom and independence. He be- 
longed to the liberty party and was an uncompromising foe to 
human slavery — would not compromise by voting with either 
of the dominant parties, and supported James G. Birney for 
President. Subsequently active with the Free Soil Party until 
the Republican Party came into existence, he removed, with 
other pioneers, to Fort Findly, Ohio. 

Horace Deemer's father was John A. Deemer, a lumber 
dealer who married Elizabeth Erwin of Columbiana County, 
Ohio. He also was a sworn foe to slavery and became a vol- 
unteer agent of what is known as the Underground Railroad. 
The Erwins were of the sturdy Scotch Irish stock that has 
given to our country so many who have played an important 
part in national affairs. The family came to Cedar County, 
Iowa, in 1866 and engaged in farming. Young Horace was 
a lad of eight years of age, having been born in Bourbon, Mar- 
shall County, Indiana, Sept. 24, 1 858. He attended the pub- 
lic schools in West Liberty and the collegiate department of 
the State University of Iowa, afterwards taking a course in the 
law department, from which he graduated in 1878, receiving 
the next year the degree of L. L. B. Like many other men, 
he earned his own way through college. For a time he assisted 
his father in the lumber business in West Liberty and, just 
before entering college, was engaged in the furniture business. 
After his admission to the bar, he entered the law office of 
Lamb, Billingsley & Lambertson in Lincoln, Nebr., remaining 
there practically a student of office methods with old practi- 
tioners. 

His nomination as District Judge in 1 886 and his renomina- 
tion and re-election by an increased majority followed in 1 890. 
While on the bench, many important cases were tried before 
him, notably, in our own county, the Cross murder case. The 
joint rate case, which was of general interest, was tried before 
him. Governor Frank D. Jackson in 1894, upon the urgent 



210 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

recommendation of members of the bar in his district, appointed 
him Judge of the Supreme Court, the Legislature having in- 
creased the number from five to six. His work for the past 
twelve years fully justifies the expectations of those who have 
practiced before him, that he would prove to be an able jurist. 
Among the opinions of the court he has written may be men- 
tioned one on the constitutionality of the Mulct law, one on 
the constitutionality of the Party Wall Statue and of the Anti- 
Cigarette Law, and others of more or less importance. In 1 898 
he served as Chief Justice. He beccime Judge of the Supreme 
Court at thirty-five years of age. He remains faithful to his 
trust and honors his profession and the state. Once he was 
urged to accept the chancellorship of the Law Department of 
the State University at an advanced salary, but decided to re- 
main on the bench. Before he was Judge of the District Court, 
he was Assistant Inspector General of the First Brigade of the 
Iowa National Guard, with the rank of major, arriving to that 
position from a private through the various grades. The Judge 
is a Knight Templar and a Knight of Pythias. He was mair- 
ried in 1882 to Miss Jeanette Gibson of Red Oak. As a 
citizen, the Judge has always taken a deep interest in things that 
tend to the well being of the community, whether of a business, 
educational or social nature. He was Secretary of the County 
Fair six years and Chairman of the Republican County Com- 
mittee during one campaign. The farmers of the county are 
especially indebted to him for his very great assistance in locat- 
ing an adjunct of the Agricultural College in the county, where- 
by they can avail themselves of the correct and scientific meth- 
ods of agriculture and allied subjects. 

Smith McPherson was born in Morgan County, Indiana, 
February 14, 1848. He came of sturdy Scotch ancestry that 
has furnished so many able men in all of the learned professions. 
His boyhood days were spent on his father's farm. At the 
time of his graduation from the Law Department of the State 



THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY BAR 211 

University at Iowa City, when the name of Smith McPherson 
was called, there came forward a short, sturdy young man with 
a confident bearing and with characteristics in manner and 
method quite distinct from the others. The writer does not 
remember what he said, but his subject was "Torts." One of 
the regents of the University turned to the writer and asked 
which one of the class would be heard from in the future. The 
reply was, "That little fellow from Indiana" — now a fulfilled 
prophecy. To my astonishment, young McPherson soon after 
appeared in Red Oak in search of a suitable location to practice 
law. While in a reminiscent mood a short time ago, Mr. 
McPherson stated that the writer was the first man he became 
acquainted with in Montgomery County, more than a third of 
a century ago; that of the six regents of the university when 
he graduated from the law school in 1 870, only one is now liv- 
ing — James Wilson, now Secretary of Agriculture in President 
Roosevelt's cabinet. Of the Judges of the Supreme Court who 
admitted him to practice. Judge Chester C. Cole is the only 
one now living. Charles Linderman, now a banker of Clarinda, 
was clerk. Later on, Mr. McPherson was admitted to practice 
in the United States Courts, presided over by Samuel F. Miller, 
afterwards Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the 
United States, John F. Dillon and James E. Dove. Dillon — 
the only one now living — is in New York City, the head of 
the bar of the United States and respected by the entire country. 
Mr. McPherson was admitted to practice in the Supreme 
Court of the United States, when the court had as its prosecut- 
ing officer. Chief Justice Fuller. Judge McPherson's advance- 
ment to his present exalted position has been by "leaps and 
bounds." He took rank as a lawyer at the Montgomery 
County Bar from the very start and after less than four years* 
practice, he was elected, in 1874, on the Republican Ticket as 
District Attorney for the Third District, after a vigorous con- 
test in which he was aided by those who were his persona! 



212 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

friends but political enemies. When once in position and hav- 
ing the advantages and the prestige of faithful and efficient ser- 
vice, he was re-elected, serving the District in all six years. The 
next round of the ladder upon w^hich he was climbing was his 
election by a large majority to the office of Attorney General 
of the state. He served in that capacity four years, his logical 
reasoning and ability as a lawyer giving him prominence at 
once and he was generally recognized as one of the foremost 
lawyers in the state. From 1884 to 1898, he devoted his 
attention to his law practice. He was employed in nearly 
every case in Southwestern Iowa that required skill and profes- 
sional ability. He was a zealous advocate of the principles of 
the Republican party and discussed the political issues between 
the parties on the platform on suitable occasions. He was often 
demanded as a public speaker and readily yielded to reasonable 
requests to do so. For some years he was the general attorney 
for the C, B. & Q. Railroad. His generous nature, extensive 
acquaintance and party service conspired to secure his nomina- 
tion and election to a seat in Congress of the United States, 
representing the Ninth District, where as a new member, he 
had unusual influence. He resigned his office as Member of 
Congress to accept a higher position tendered him by the Presi- 
dent of the United States — that of United States Judge for the 
Southern District of Iowa, which position he now holds. 

The Montgomery County Bar, collectively considered, oc- 
cupies no second position to that in any of the counties similarly 
situated and containing no large cities; individually considered, 
it has members not out-ranked in Iowa. 

Of the state judges assigned to this county, we had many. 
There were four circuit judges: Robert Douglas of Council 
Bluffs, James W. Hewitt, previously mentioned, Daniel D. 
Gregory of Afton and John Chaney of Osceola. The court 
was abolished years ago. 

Our first district judge was James W. McDill. He was 




JUDGE SMITH McPHERSON. 



THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY BAR 213 

patient, affable and a good lawyer. He was a congressman 
and a United States Senator by appointment. He was not 
brilliant, but was as true as the needle. He was followed by 
Captain Joseph R. Reed of Council Bluffs, who had gone 
through the war as captain of a battery of light artillery. Judge 
Reed is still in vigorous manhood, after serving as congressman 
and as an Iowa Supreme Judge; also, under appointment of 
President Harrison, as Chief Justice of the Court of Land 
Claims. He was followed by Samuel Forey of Leon, who is 
now totally blind, but living in contentment and happiness, 
without sorrow or complaint, awaiting the final summons to 
come up higher. Then came R. C. Henry of Mount Ayr, 
now County Attorney of Ringgold County, followed by Cap- 
tain John W. Harvey of Leon, a soldier for the Union, still in 
full practice. 

Then the district was changed, and our district was given 
four judges. The following are judges who have served since 
that time: C. F. Loofbourough of Atlantic, who recently 
died in Salt Lake City, where he had moved several years ago ; 
Judges Deemer and Smith McPherson of this county; A. B. 
Thornell, yet serving us; George Carson of Council Bluffs, an- 
other old soldier; W. S. Lewis of Glenwood; W. R. Green of 
Audubon, still serving; N. W. Macey, still on the bench; 
Walter I. Smith of Council Bluffs, now serving with credit as 
congressman; and O. D. Wheeler of Council Bluffs, yet on 
the bench. 



CHAPTER XXV. 



AGRICULTURE AND HORTICULTURE. 

Iowa's primacy in agriculture is due to unparallelled richness 
of soil and favorable climate, together with the fact that its 
fertile acres have been settled by intelligent, progressive farmers. 
Its lands may not be superior to the best land of adjoining 
states, but it has the distinctive advantage of containing the 
least percentage of non-productive or waste land. 

Fully 95 per cent of its area is exceedingly rich in the ele- 
ments necessary to plant growth, and doubtless the remarkable 
increase in amount and value of agricultural products in the 
state and, relatively, in the county, is due to the fact that Mont- 
gomery County, lying in the heart of the corn belt, is not ex- 
celled by any county of equal area in the United States. The 
value of real estate in the county is approximately $23,000,000 
and of personal property something like $2,500,000. Potta- 
watamie County, cornering with Montgomery on the north- 
west, a much larger county, has the distinction of producing 
the greatest amount of corn of any county in the United States 
and of being in a congressional district producing a greater 
amount of this cereal than any other district in the United States. 
Wheat, oats, hay and potatoes, are produced in large quantities 
in Montgomery County. 

There has been a gradual evolution from prairie grass to 
wheat, from wheat to clover, from clover to corn — and Corn 
is king, and his dominions are ever extending. "No human 
monarch ever ruled with such inexorable law and exact justice 
and brought to his subjects such riches and such development 
of all the virtues of industry, aspiration and providence, as King 
Corn, in his great empire of the Middle West." The yearly 



AGRICULTURE AND HORTICULTURE 215 

revenue to the county derived from this source is large. In 
recent years, there has been a marked increase in the annual 
production of corn by those who have adopted scientific meth- 
ods in its production. A school in charge of the professors 
of the State Agricultural College, who give instruction in the 
selection of seeds, the preparation of the soil and rotation of 
crops, promises to largely increase the annual yield. 

The preparatory crop of clover renders the soil as fertile 
as the decaying roots of the grass of the virgin prairie. Twenty- 
five years after the first settlement of the county, there was no 
apparent necessity for fertilizing the land and no attention was 
given it. First came the plowing, or, as it was called, the 
breaking of the prairie. This was always done in the growing 
season, that the roots of the grasses might more easily decay. 
If the roots had been allowed to harden before this work was 
performed, they would not have decayed for several years, 
and the land could not have produced the best results. Corn 
was often planted in the following manner: The tough sod 
was cut through with an axe and into the openings thus made, 
grains of corn were dropped and covered up by stamping the 
dirt with the foot. The corn thus planted was called sod-corn 
and was not afterwards tilled. The next spring, the prairie 
soil would be torn apart with a heavy harrow, the desired dis- 
tances marked off with a sled-like marker and the seed covered 
with a hoe, the women and children usually assisting in this 
work. There arose a demand for some better and faster meth- 
od of dropping corn, and, under the spur of necessity, the corn 
planter was invented, which planted and covered two rows at 
a time. This was supplemented by a plow drawn by one horse, 
which followed along one side of the row to cultivate the grow- 
ing plants, and returned on the other side. Subsequently, a 
plow with two tongue-shaped shovels and drawn by one horse, 
rendered it necessary to go only once between the rows. Then, 
in obedience to the law of evolution from lower to higher, from 



216 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

good to better, a cultivator was invented which was drawn by 
two horses and which did double the work of the former one. 
This was similar to the ordinary cultivator now in use, but it 
was, however, heavy and unwieldly, and without wheels to 
regulate the depth of the cultivator, and was in time thrown 
aside for the modern corn plow with wheels. This comprises 
a check-row, dropping evenly two rows at once, and covering 
the corn at the same time, and a walking or riding cultivator, 
some covering one, some two rows at a time. On the larger 
farms, in order to hasten the labor of planting, the lister is 
brought into requisition. This combination plow and planter 
drills and covers the seed of one row, enabling the workman to 
plow and plant from six to ten acres a day. After the corn 
plants have grown to the height of from four to six inches, corn 
cultivators plow out the elevations made by the lister in the 
first process. By the tools and improvements now in use, a 
saving of over 90 per cent of the physical labor is effected over 
those employed three decades ago. 

The old method of sowing, reaping and threshing small 
grain is now obsolete. The sickle made way for the cradle, 
which was followed by a man to rake and another to bind 
the sheaves. This in turn gave place to the reaper with a man 
standing on the platform, and, with a rake, removing each 
bundle, followed by from four to six men to do the binding. 
The bands made of straw were tied while walking from one 
bundle to another. After the binders, came two men who put 
the bundles together in shocks. Now all this labor is done 
away with by the self-binder, which not only simplifies the work, 
but saves the farmer and his wife the expense and care of so 
many men during harvest time, for this machine cuts, binds 
and drops the bundles into convenient piles, so that one man 
is able to do the shocking. 

The old process of threshing grain in the first settlement of 
this county is merely a memory. A threshing floor, say thirty 




SECTION OF CORN AND STOCK JUDGING SCHOOL— Held at Red Oak, December, 1904. 




C. H. LANE'S STORE— The first in Red Oak. On the corner occupied by the First Nat'l Bank. 



AGRICULTURE AND HORTICULTURE 217 

or forty feet in diameter, was prepared by removing the prairie 
grass and making the ground as smooth and hard as possible. 
The grain was placed upon this, and tramped out by horses 
or oxen, their sharp hoofs taking the place of the flail, and, from 
time to time, the straw was turned. In this manner the grain 
and straw were separated and nature did the winnowing, for 
it must be remembered that there was a constant breeze, un- 
impeded by grove or other obstruction, and by throwing up the 
chaff and the wheat, the former would be blown away. Now, 
with a threshing machine driven by steam, the band-cutting, 
feeding, threshing, winnowing, measuring the grain and stack- 
ing the straw, is one combined process, a steady stream pouring 
from its side many hundreds of bushels a day. 

Mr. John Hayes, Ex-President of the Iowa State Agricul- 
tural Fair, an old resident of the state and county, a man of 
large affairs, and of keen obsei'vation, well states in a news- 
paper article published some time ago the wonderful trans- 
formation that has taken place in the last century : 

"Fifty years ago the fertile acres of Iowa were largely a part 
of the National domain, the titles rapidly passing from the 
United States by pre-emption, by cash entry, by land warrant 
locations and by railroad land grants. 

"Forty years ago the better part of Iowa remained untilled 
and vast areas were still called inaccessible, no railroads having 
penetrated its western portion. 

"Thirty years ago Western Iowa was in the full flush of de- 
velopment. With the advent of the railroad in 1868, a new 
era came to "the slope," and during the ten succeeding years 
the almost limitless stretches of native sward were broken; the 
luxuriant grasses and beautiful flowers of the prairie disap- 
peared." 

HORTICULTURE. 
After the people of Montgomery County awoke to the fact 
that the county was adapted to fruit growing, they entered upon 



218 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

this industry with enthusiasm. Orchards, vineyards and small 
fruit plantations came to be in evidence. All through South- 
western Iowa, thirty years ago, the belief was general that all 
that was necessary to make a success of fruit growing was to 
put seeds, plants and trees in the ground, and nature would do 
the rest. That any special knowledge or judgment was re- 
quired to insure success, was something which was not taken 
into consideration. Many successes but more failures were 
the outcome of this mistaken idea and real remunerative results 
did not come until careful, scientific methods were adopted. 
Of late years, much progress has been made, and this field is 
now generally occupied by legitimate horticulturists. 

The orchards of Montgomery County took first premiums 
at the World's Fair at New Orleans, but they were old or- 
chards and have now fallen into partial decay. Iowa had the 
honor of taking highest awards at the Centennial Exposition in 
1 876, taking sweep stakes for the largest exhibit of apples. At 
the World's Fair at Chicago, she ranked high in competing 
with her sister states. In the past three years, Iowa has planted 
more acres of orchards and vineyards than any adjoining state 
with the exception of Missouri. Her people are progressive 
and believe in home making. One has only to pass over the 
county to see the many beautiful homes, surrounded by hedges 
and protected by trees, among which the evergreen is con- 
spicuous. 

In the very earliest period of the settlement of the country, 
it was the universal verdict that fruit could not be grown on 
our rich, deep and alluvial soil, and this opinion was entertained, 
notwithstanding the object lesson before them that along the 
water courses and nooks of ground protected from the annual 
prairie fires, grapes, plums and crab-apples grew in abundance. 
So rapidly did the public opinion on this subject change, that 
as early as 1883, 1884 and 1885, it was no uncommon occur- 
rence to furnish eastern markets with carload lots of apples con- 



AGRICULTURE AND HORTICULTURE 219 

signed to places which had previously been looked to for their 
supply. Perhaps there was no one thing that the people, who 
had left a fruit growing country, missed so much as apples. 
The scarcity of money and their high price rendered it almost 
impossible to obtain them. It became a common saying of 
those who had become discouraged of living out west that they 
^vere going back to their wife's relations, where they could raise 
fruit. But, as was discovered after a time, the county is well 
adapted to raising apples of excellent quality and of sufficient 
quantity to supply the home demand. 



CHAPTER XXVI 



THE COUNTY FAIR. 

The first fair held in Montgomery County was at the old 
town of Frankfort in 1859. It was held out on the prairie, 
with no fence or building of any kind excepting the school- 
house, which stood apart from the cluster of buildings com- 
posing the town. This building, without floral or other decora- 
tions and without any attempt at artistic arrangement, was 
called the "floral" hall. There were more flowers on the out- 
side than on the inside of the small one-story structure. The 
only articles displayed were a cheese — the first in the county — 
made by A. P. Whittier; some butter and a few tin cans con- 
taining sorghum syrup. These were placed on the desks and 
benches and a fee of twenty-five cents was charged adults for 
admission to the exhibit. 

The fair proper was enclosed with a rope supported on 
stakes. This was done to localize it. Within this enclosure 
was a reaper and mower — the old Kentucky harvester brought 
in wagons from St. Joe by J. H. Bean and A. P. Whittier, the 
latter the grandfather of Thad Whittier, now a resident of 
Red Oak. This was the first and only reaper in the county. 
John Bolt brought from the valley of the Nodaway two brood 
mares, and a few head of cattle. He took the premium on his 
horses. E. F. Murray had a span of work horses that took 
the premium. Mr. Whittier had six thoroughbred Durham 
(Shorthorn) cattle that he had just brought from Ross County^ 
Ohio, the first fine stock brought to Montgomery County. 
Samuel M. Smith exhibited the only hogs at that fair. He 
hauled two from his home in Milford. In sport he said they 
were a mixture of Chester White cuid Suffolk, giving them a 



THE COUNTY FAIR 221 

long pedigree. He did not take the trouble to unload them 
and place them inside of the enclosure. He also received a 
premium. 

Mrs. Whittier and Mrs. John Evans exhibited their skill in 
riding and managing their steeds. Mrs Whittier carried off 
the honors and received a prize. The contest was on the un- 
fenced prairie where there were no obstructions. Much merri- 
ment was caused by an improvised horse race. One of the 
horses was a thoroughbred which had carried an officer through 
the war with Mexico and had been given to Wm. Dunn at 
Keokuk. The other was a mustang owned by Mr. Packard. 
At the word "Go!" the war horse was off and soon came down 
the home stretch in good style, the rider holding him in, but 
the mustang, after much urgmg and with a gait that was a 
mixture of lope, trot and amble, arrived too late to receive the 
plaudits of the little group of onlookers. A man by the name 
of Montgomery wanted to bet that he had a horse that could 
beat the entire outfit. Bob Dunn took the bet, but as one of 
the parties insisted it should be a trotting and the other a pacing 
match, they came to no agreement and the affair was declared 
off. 

The fair was the first event that brought all of the people 
together. Their social nature craved the society of others like 
situated, and now for the first time they could be counted to 
see how many there were of them. The principal entertain- 
ment of the day was a picnic dinner that had been prepared by 
the good women of the community. It is probable that no 
similar occasion has afforded so much pleasure as the first county 
fair in Montgomery County. The collector and distributor of 
funds to pay the premiums was almost lost sight of. The only 
compensation for exhibitors was largely in the public recogni- 
tion of the superiority of their exhibits. 

A person approaching the little group from any direction 
might be reminded of shipwrecked and homeless people on a 



222 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY' COUNTY 

barren island, for the scene was bounded only by tlie distant 
horizon. It must be remembered that there was no human 
habitation, other than in the little village of Frankfort, to be 
seen from that outlook; but instead of these people being home- 
less and forlorn, their cabin homes were hidden away in the 
timber beside the streams and they were living in contentment 
and had simply met together for the day to lay the foundation 
for better tilings. 

The war came on and the minds of the people were diverted 
into other channels. The fife and drum called the men to arms 
and the women to anxiety and tears, and a decade elapsed be- 
fore another attempt was made to organize a county fair. In 
the meantime, Frankfort had become a memory and Red Oak 
the metropolis of Montgomery County. And there a fair, quite 
similar to the first but more pretentious, was held in the public 
square in the fall of 1869. Three years afterward the South- 
western Iowa Fair Association was organized. H. N. Moore 
was the principal mover in this enterprise; H. W. Otis ^vas 
President, Richard ^Vads^vorth, Treasurer, and E. Kretchmer, 
Secretary. In the fall of 1873, this society held a fair on the 
open prairie north of the forty acre tract subsequently used for 
fair grounds. This was surrounded by a rope, like the first 
one. No permanent improvements \vere made. A contro- 
versy arose concerning the place to be selected for a permanent 
location, and, selfish and personal interests conspiring to hinder 
the enterprise auspiciously begun, it died a natural death. 

Another decade passed ^^'ithout any substantial progress be- 
ing made in establishing a fair on a firm basis. But in July of 
1879, a few enterprising citizens of Red Oak met to organize 
an agricultural society. The late Joseph F. Fisher, the father 
of M. E. Fisher of Red Oak, entered into tliis project with 
his characteristic enthusiasm, and he was made chairman of 
the meeting, \V. H. Hunter acting as secretary. Articles of 
Incorporation were adopted and signed by the following named 



THE COUNTY FAIR 223 

gentlemen: John Hayes, President; C. C. Platter, Vice Pres- 
ident; W. H. Hunter, Secretary; A. C. Hinchman, Treasurer; 
and the board of five directors — J. A. Hysham, Wayne Sten- 
nett, A. J. Roach, O. E. Whittaker and J. F. Fisher. They 
immediately purchased forty acres of ground on which to hold 
the exhibitions, viz., the southwest quarter of the northwest 
quarter of Section 29, Township 11, Range 38, lying west of 
the City of Red Oak at the north side of Coolbaugh street. 
The entire capital stock of this company was fixed at $6,000, 
divided into shares of $100.00 each. Forty shares, more or 
less, were purchased by the progressive farmers of the county. 

The first fair under the auspices of the Association was held 
early in October in 1 879. The grounds had just been put into 
first-rate condition and enclosed by a high board fence. Suit- 
able buildings were erected for the display of live stock and a 
good half-mile track was laid out. The exhibition was a com- 
plete success. The receipts were sufficient to pay for all of 
the premiums offered and for the improvements, leaving a sur- 
plus of about $266.57 to begin business the following year. 
The total receipts for the first year were $8,972.31 and the 
expenditures $8,705.74. The next year, the receipts of the 
society aggregated between $5,000 and $6,000. The year 
following there was a change in some of the officers. Mr. Hayes 
continued as President and H. E. Deemer was elected Secre- 
tary. Premiums this year were $3,500; in the horse depart- 
ment alone, $1,300. 

In 1880, the society was enrolled as a member of the "Na- 
tional Trotting Association." Several members of the Fair 
Association were patrons of the turf. The Red Oak branch 
comprised most of the members of the parent society and was 
officered by the same men. These meetings were known as 
the June Races. The June meeting and the fall meeting were 
under the same management, the directors of both being J. F. 
Fisher, E. F. Leach, O. P. Whittier, A. P. Berryhill and O. E. 



224 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

Whitaker. A jockey club bearing the name of the Red Oak 
Driving Park Association and composed of members of the 
Montgomery County Agricultural Society, was formed. The 
stock consisted of forty-eight shares at $100.00 per share. 
H. H. Palmer was President, C. F. Clark, Vice President, 
L. F. Ross, Treasurer, H. E. Deemer, Secretary. The direc- 
tors were O. P. Whittier, W. C. Lockhart, A. J. Roach. Ken- 
nedy Packard and O. E. Whitaker. 

At the annual fairs there has always been a fine display of 
Clydesdale and Norman breeds of horses; of cattle, the estab- 
lished breeds such as Short Horns, Herefords, Polled Angus, 
Jerseys, etc. Competition has been open to all of the herds 
of Iowa and adjoining states, but exhibitors linving in Mont- 
gomery County have always carried off a fair share of the 
premiums. T. R. Westrope of Milford usually had a large 
exhibit of the very best quality of Durhams. Wayne Stennett, 
A. P. Berryhill, A. P. West, J. F. Moates, Thomas Wall, 
John Hayes, C. C. Platter and many other stock breeders were 
at different times exhibitors. All the different breeds of swine 
have been represented — the Berkshire, Poland China and Jer- 
seys always being in evidence. The agricultural exhibit was 
always creditable and the hall well filled with vegetables, grains 
and fruits. One drawback was lack of room for the display 
of the fancy department, the floral hall being filled to over- 
flowing by the ladies and their fancy work. 

The important position of secretary of the fair has at differ- 
ent times been filled by H. E. Deemer, S. A. Henry, O. J. 
Gibson, J. E. Whelan and T. H. Lee. This organization 
continued in business sixteen years, with the usual experience 
of financial enterprises of this character. It had its successes 
and failures — more of the latter than of the former — and when 
it voluntarily went out of business and the land, buildings and 
all other property sold, it was found that the stockholders had 
received about fifty per cent on their original investment. And 



THE COUNTY FAIR 225 

yet, on the whole, it paid. It tended to promote the well 
being of the community. It paid in the increased interest in 
agriculture brought about by the interchange of ideas among 
the farmers concerning their business. It paid in the better 
quality of horses, cattle and hogs placed on the market by the 
farmers of Montgomery County, at prices greatly enhanced 
over what they would have been had not practical object les- 
sons of the yearly fair been presented. All that has been said 
applies with equal force to the fair held at Villisca by the people 
on the east side of the county, in the forks of the Nodaway and 
in contiguous territory. 

During the fairs and for several years after, Montgomery 
County became a noted market for the best specimens of live 
stock — especially horses. The demand has been so great and 
prices so good that a part of those unsold are not of such marked 
superiority of quality. 

The Agricultural Society had gone out of existence, but 
Morris J. Jones did not propose to let so inviting a situation 
remain unoccupied, and he proceeded at once to build up an 
institution devoted to raising and training horses. It took 
money to start an enterprise of such considerable proportions. 
A suitable place was selected and purchased adjoining the 
city of Red Oak on the north, and named Pactolus Park in 
honor of a celebrated trotter owned by Mr. Jones. A part 
of the land purchased was divided into town lots — one hun- 
dred in number — and taken by citizens who favored the en- 
terprise. Each of the lots were purchased at $100, the buyer 
agreeing to a selection by lot. The lots were all sold and in 
this way $10,000 was raised for the contemplated project. 
The other part was laid off and graded, and a regulation mile 
track, fully meeting the approval of the turfmen, was made. A 
spacious amphitheatre was built, also suitable barns, and three 
hundred box stalls made ready for occupancy. The raising 
and training of fast horses and roadsters is a legitimate business. 



226 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

and Mr. Jones freed it as much as possible from the speculation 
feature. It is one of the principal sources of revenue, and the 
total value of these animals in the aggregate is very great. 

Mr. Jones invited attention to his park by offering premiums 
of $20,000, divided into seventeen racing events. Entries to 
these races vv^ere from eighteen different states — including Texas, 
California and New^ York — and Canada. The first day, 
Marcus Daly's Lady Wilton made the fastest time, 2:15. The 
purse for the fastest pacer was won by Keen Cutter, time 2:14. 
Packet by Pactolus went in 2:14. The two year old pacer 
owned by Denver parties made a mile in 2 ; 1 6|/2. John R. 
Gentry broke all previous records. There was assembled a 
greater aggregation of these noble animals than had ever before 
been known — this is conceded by horsemen. There was 
Robert J., the then fastest pacer in the world; the little trotting 
queen Alix, the fastest trotter in the world, owned by Mr. Jones ; 
Directum, the fastest trotting stallion; Fantasy, the fastest three 
and four year old mare ; Joe Patchen, Azote, Nigthingale, Fly- 
ing Jib, and three hundred other horses, not only good but the 
best in the world, and it is through no fault of Mr. Jones that 
the high class meeting he took so much pains to inaugurate was 
not continued. The day that the most notable events were 
to come off, there was present in Red Oak the largest number 
of people from surrounding cities and states ever assembled 
here at one time. A drenching rain the night before, however, 
threw a damper on competitors apd deprived the promotor of 
many thousands of dollars that otherwise would have been gath- 
ered in. This fact, associated with other financial misfortunes, 
caused Mr. Jones to yield his park into other hands. 

The demise of the old fair association was hastened by 
promoting the horse breeding enterprise. It was thought that 
as Red Oak was an ideal location in the blue grass section for 
an extensive and lucrative business in that line, that it would, 
in part at least, secure the general results sought by the fair 



THE COUNTY FAIR 227 

and be a general benefit to the agricultural people of the coun- 
try round about. 

In obedience to the universal law of progress, a new organiza- 
tion came into being. A few public spirited and competent 
gentlemen resolved to create a county fair association that would 
be a fair in spirit as well as in name. This was in 1 90 1 . The 
year previous, an experiment had bfeen made in running a private 
fair. A prize was offered for every ticket sold, with a chance 
to get something for comparatively nothing. There was the 
usual display and a good attendance, and the financial results 
were said to have been satisfactory. The year 1901 marked a 
new era. G. M. Hull was made President and T. G. Haag 
Secretary. In 1 902 and 1 903 the important position of Secre- 
tary was filled by Dan Gunn, and E. M. Murphy was President 
for the same years, also for 1905. Dr. Schadel was Secretary 
for the years 1904 and 1905. The present officers are: Henry 
Peterson, President; (Mr. Peterson has been director of this 
and the old fair fifteen years) Henry Ebert, Vice President; 

E. A. Larson, Secretary; W. S. Ellis, Treasurer. The board 
of directors: Henry Peterson, Henry Ebert, W. S. Ellis, 

F. S. Schadel, A. R. Tracy. E. M. Murphy, Wm. Thomas, 

G. M. Hull and George T. Cooper. 



CHAPTER XXVII 



THE SPANISH AMERICAN WAR. 

While the people of Montgomery County may not, perhaps, 
lay claim to greater patriotism than their brethren throughout 
the state, the fact remains that this county furnished many more 
than her quota of the soldiers who served during the Spanish- 
American War. One reason, doubtless, was that Red Oak 
and Villisca were each the home of a militia company belonging 
to the Iowa National Guard, one of which was reputed to be 
one of the best companies in the state. But there was another, 
and, in the early stage of the struggle, a greater reason for the 
intense interest which the people of the county manifested in 
the war. This was the fact that one of the two officers who 
lost their lives when the U. S. battleship Maine was blown up 
in Havana harbor — Engineer Darwin R Merritt — was a 
Montgomery County boy, and a son of one of her oldest and 
most respected citizens, Hon. W. W. Merritt, at that time 
postmaster at Red Oak. 

The events leading up to this terrible disaster had their be- 
ginning back in 1895, when the Cubans rebelled against Spain. 
This was by no means their first attempt to secure their free- 
dom from Spanish rule, which was marked by revolting cruelty 
and injustice — at least according to the claims of the Cubans, 
and the American people pretty generally accepted their evid- 
ence. The last previous rebellion was known in history as the 
Ten Years' Insurrection, in which thousands of Cubans lost 
their lives in an unsuccessful effort to throw off the yoke of 
Spain. 

Beaten but undaunted, the brave islanders in 1895 made 
another and final attempt. Such strength did they display that 



THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 229 

Spain was compelled to send corps after corps of her army 
across the Atlantic, but without succeeding in pacifying the 
island. Marshal Campos, the Governor General, was replaced 
by the fierce soldier, General Weyler, whose cruel reign be- 
came historical. As a means of overcoming the rebels, he 
devastated whole districts, driving the inhabitants into the vil- 
lages, where they suffered great hardships, many dying of 
starvation. 

As a rule, the people of the United States were ardent sym- 
pathizers of the Cubans, and a good many Americans found 
their way into the Cuban army. There is no doubt that the 
assistance received from their American friends was an import- 
ant factor in keeping up the unequal contest. 

After the insurrection had been in progress for several years, 
attempts were made to have Congress recognize the Cubans as 
belligerents, but they failed. The government did, however, 
make such remonstrance against the methods used by "Butcher" 
Weyler, as he was called, that he was finally recalled, being 
succeeded by General Blanco. The beginning of 1 898 found 
conditions there about as bad as they possibly could be and the 
feeling throughout the country was strong against Spain. So 
serious had the situation become that the government saw fit 
to send a warship to Havana to protect American interests 
should the exigency arise. This was in February 1 898. On 
the night of the 15 th of that month, while lying at anchor in 
the harbor, whither she had been conducted by a Spanish 
official, the splendid vessel was blown up and 259 of her crew, 
including two officers, were lost. 

This terrible disaster was the culminating event which led 
to the final breach between the United States and Spain. A 
feeling of intense rage swept over the country. There was a 
popular demand for war at once, but final judgment was with- 
held until a careful investigation was made into the cause of 
the explosion, there being, of course, a possibility that it was 



230 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

internal and was not caused by a mine, as was generally be- 
lieved. On March 2 1 st, the inquiry commission announced its 
finding, which was to the effect that the ship had been destroyed 
by the explosion of a submarine mine. 

Immediately following the announcement of the finding. Con- 
gress made an appropriation of $50,000,000 for national de- 
fense and preparations were made for war. On April 18th, 
both houses of Congress passed resolutions demanding that the 
government of Spain relinquish its authority in the island of 
Cuba and withdraw its land and naval forces from the island. 
This resolution was signed by President McKinley on April 
20th, and the government of Spain was given three days in 
which to reply. But on April 21st, before our minister could 
present the ultimatum of the United States, he was given his 
passports. This was the signal for war to begin and formal 
declarations by both countries followed quickly. On April 
23rd, President McKinley issued a call for 125,000 volunteers, 
and the governors of the various states at once ordered the Na- 
tional Guard to assemble at the State capitals. 

While all these events were transpiring, the local militia. 
Company M of Red Oak and Company B of Villisca, of the 
Third Regiment, Iowa National Guard, were making prepara- 
tions so that they would be ready for any emergency, though 
few really believed that war would come. Unfortunately, at 
the critical juncture. Company B was greatly handicapped by 
being without a captain, her late commander, Sterling P. Moore, 
having shortly before been elected to the office of Major of 
the Third Battalion of the Third Regiment. The company 
was further crippled by the absence of the First Lieutenant, 
T. J. Poston, an excellent military man, who left early in the 
spring for the Klondike country. This left the company in 
charge of the second lieutenant, A. D. Poston. 



THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 231 

SKETCH OF COMPANY M. 

Company M, on the other hand, was in the pink of condition. 
The first warlike note served to arouse the military spirit and 
all through March many recruits were received, while tri-week- 
ly drills took the place of the usual weekly drill. The result 
was that when the call came for troops, Company M was one 
of the strongest companies in the Third Regiment. As this 
company figures prominently in the Philippine campaign and 
because it was in many respects an unusual body of men, a 
brief sketch of the organization will prove interesting. 

A temporary military company was organized in Red Oak 
in the fall of 1893 with Jesse W. Clark as Captain, W. H. 
French, First Lieutenant, and Harry F. Brown, Second Lieu- 
tenant, and steps were taken to secure the first vacancy in the 
Iowa National Guard. This opportunity came with the de- 
mise of Company M of the Third Regiment, and through the 
efforts of Major W. H. Evans of that regiment and his Sergeant 
Major, the newly elected Captain Clark, the Red Oak company 
fell heir to its name and place in the Guard. On Oct. 18th, 
1893, the company was mustered into the service with twenty- 
nine men. In the election of officers which followed, Jesse 
W. Clark was chosen Captain, W. H. French, First Lieu- 
tenant, and Guy E. Logan, Second Lieutenant, and these offi- 
cers still held these positions at the breaking out of the war and 
at its close. In the years that followed the organization, the 
company grew in strength and importance. It drew its mem- 
bership from the best homes of the community and Company M 
"affairs" came to be looked upon as society events. But the 
members were something more than mere society men; they 
were athletes, and so faithfully did they train and drill that for 
three years they stood at the head of all the companies of the 
state. Their highest marking was received in 1896, when a 
record of 106.83 was made out of a possible 109. It was 



232 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

during this year that the company, desirous of securing better 
quarters, organized an armory company and erected an armory 
building, 45x120 feet, of red brick, costing about $6,000. 

PREPARING FOR WAR. 

The President's call for volunteers had scarcely been an- 
nounced when Adjutant General Melvin H. Byers sent a call to 
the commanding officers of the various companies to hold their 
men in readiness to go to Des Moines on receipt of instructions 
by wire. There was great excitement in Red Oak and Vil- 
lisca that day. In Red Oak this excitement was accentuated 
by the unusually high personnel of the company. No fewer 
than thirty-seven members of the company were members or 
ex-members of the High School, Captain Clark was County 
Superintendent of Schools, and the company included two in- 
structors of the Red Oak High School, besides a number of 
young business and professional men. Before the company 
left for Des Moines, a number of new men enlisted, including 
the principal and one of the instructors in the Clarinda High 
School, E. Whitney Martin, afterwards a professor in Stanford 
University at Palo Alto, California, and C. E. Arnold, for- 
merly an instructor in the Red Oak High School. 

The first call to arms was received on Saturday, but it was not 
until Tuesday morning that the actual departure took place. 
The interval was a time of intense excitement and patriotic 
fervor. Meetings were held both in Red Oak and Villisca 
in honor of the departing troops. The Guard assembled at 
the State Fair Grounds at Des Moines, which became Camp 
McKinley, being in command of Gen. James Rush Lincoln, 
a popular officer, and recognized as one of the leading military 
authorities in the country. He was afterwards commissioned 
as a brigadier general. Col. John C. Loper of Des Moines 
was placed in command of the Third Regiment, the number 
of which was changed to the Fifty-First Iowa Infantry. The 
regiment remained in Des Moines until June 5th, when it left 



THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 233 

for San Francisco, for transportation to the Philippines, the 
three other Iowa regiments being assigned to camps in the South 
and East for service in Cuba, should they be required. Com- 
pany M retained all its old officers, but Company B, having 
no captain or first lieutenant, and its second lieutenant failing 
to pass the examination, was compelled to put up with inex- 
perienced and — in the case of the captain, at least — inefficient 
officers. They made the mistake of electing as their captain, 
A. F. Burton, a former and not too popular superintendent of 
the Villisca Public Schools. In the service which followed, 
he failed to command the respect of either his brother officers 
or his men. 

The regiment was mustered into the United States Service 
on Decoration Day, May 30th, 1 898. On June 4th, official 
orders were received, sending the Fifty-First Iowa to San Fran- 
cisco for service in the Philippines, and on June 6th, the start 
was made. At Red Oak a great demonstration greeted the 
section carrying Company M. 

IN CAMP AT SAN FRANCISCO. 

The trip to San Francisco was uneventful. The regiment 
went into camp at once on the site of an old Chinese burying 
ground, on a dismal stretch of sand which was designated as 
Camp Merritt. Not only was the camp a dreary one, but 
after a time it became an unhealthy one. It is a notable fact 
that while the two Montgomery County companies lost a num- 
ber of men by death, all the losses occurred in camp and not a 
single one was lost in the year spent on the ocean and in a 
strenuous campaign in the Philippines. At the time the regi- 
ment was ordered to San Francisco, instructions were issued to 
recruit the companies up to 106 men. Lieut. W. H. French 
was the recruiting officer sent to Red Oak, where he had little 
difficulty in securing the required number of men. 

After more or less ill health and a number of deaths among the 
men at Camp Merritt, the regiment was removed, the latter 



234 MISlc>K^ OV MON TGOIVIF.RY COUNTY 

Pviit oi July, lo Camp Momain at iho Presidio, where sanitary 
comlitions were heller. \\ hile in eamp at the Presiilio. the 
Fifty-First \\as l>rigaded with Tennessee and Kansas Regi- 
ments, mrder the command of Gen. Charles King, the well 
knoNvn >vriter of military novels. The regiment remained in 
eam{'> imtil Nov. >d. Nvhen it sailed on the transport IVnnsyl- 
vania. lor the Philippines. 

During the last lew \\ eeks before sailing, the Iowa Regiment 
in general and Company M in particular ^^■on the honors of 
the camp. C ompany M participated in an exhibition drill at 
Mechanics' Pavilion, the largest public hall in San Francisco, 
after>\ aids destro> ed by the great tne ^\hich followed the earth- 
i]uake of 1*^)06. Later, the company \von a silver loving cup 
in a competitive drill in the same hall. The Eighth California, 
the 1 \ventieth Kansas and the Tennessee Regiments \vere en- 
tered tor the event, along \\ith Company M. but the Californ- 
ians and Kansans decided not to try conclusions "svith the 
loNvans, so the contest lay betNveen Company F of Nashville, 
Tenn.. the >vinner of many prize drills through the South, and 
Company M, the latter winning. 

T'Nvo other events >vhich transpired just before sailing and 
Nvere of great interest at the time, ^\■e^e the football games be- 
tween an Iowa team and the Stanford L^niversity and the Uni- 
versity of California teams. 1 he former Nvas won by lo\\a 
with a score of 5 to 0. and the latter ^v'as a tie game. Captain 
Clark of Company M. coached the Knva team, and Corporal 
Resolve P. Palmer, of the same company, at this writing an 
othcer in the regular army, played full back, being the star 
of the team. 

ACROSS THE PACIFIC, 

The lust stop ol the Pennsylvania was made at Honolulu, 
after an uneventtul run of a ^veek. and a stop of three days Nvas 
made. 1 he football team had time to meet a native team from 
Punahou College, defeating the islanders by a score of 12 to 0. 



THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 235 

A little less than a month was consumed in the remainder 
of the voyage to the Philippines, the Pennsylvania casting anchor 
in Manila Bay, Dec. 8th. But the regiment didn't land. There 
w^as trouble at Iloilo, one of the important cities of the islands 
and they w^ere held in readiness to move on short notice. 
Christmas Day vv^as spent in Manila Harbor, and, fortunately, 
the regiment received its Christmas boxes which had been sent 
from home, on Christmas Eve. The next day the Pennsylvania 
mailed for Iloilo, arriving there two days later. In the mean- 
time, the Spanish garrison which the regiment had been sent 
to help relieve, had evacuated, and the city was in the hands 
of the insurgents. Preparations were at once made for battle. 
The expedition included several transports with troops and the 
Cruiser Baltimore, the troops being under command of General 
Miller. But the fight didn't come off. The insurgents put 
up a good bluff and no attack was made, though the regiment 
remained before the city for a month. Finally, the latter part 
of January, the Pennsylvania headed for Manila, and on Feb. 
2, 1 899, after three months spent on the water, the Fifty-First 
Iowa landed at Fort San Phillippi, Cavite, across the bay from 
Manila. Here the regiment went into camp, and for some 
time guarded the navy yard. 

GUARD DUTY. 
The war wdth Spain had long since come to a close and in 
the treaty of peace which followed, the United States had the 
unpleasant duty of pacifying the islands. The natives, under 
the leadership of Aguinaldo, a native patriot who had been in- 
terested in several Spanish uprisings, did not consider them- 
selves as requiring pacification, and organized resistance fol- 
lowed. The first clash of arms came on Feb. 4th, between the 
insurgents and the outposts of the Nebraska regiment in the 
suburbs of Manila. The battle raged for three days, the Iowa 
Regiment being passive spectators. On the 9th, however, they 
got into action in a small way. The natives occupying the 



236 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY OUNTY 

village of San Roque adjoining Cavite, had shown considerable 
activity. Admiral Dewey ordered them to evacuate the vil- 
lage by 9 :00 o'clock on that day or the city would be shelled. 
The insurgent force was 5,000 infantry and 700 mounted cav- 
alry. The insurgents anticipated the action of the invaders by 
deserting their city and setting it on fire. The regiment pur- 
sued the retreating force through the burning city, the men 
suffering greatly from the heat. Beyond San Roque, the men 
spent their first night in camp on the field. A scouting ex- 
pedition next morning ended, for the time, the active military 
service of Company M, the next few weeks being devoted to 
guard duty, and, as the force was small, guard duty came every 
other day and night. This service was, for the most part, un- 
eventful. Practically all able bodied Filipinos were insurgent 
soldiers, including the natives employed about the government 
navy yards, and these fellows were ever ready to sneak up on 
the guard and stab him. One night while on guard Private 
Carl Cook of Company M, caught sight of a native crawling 
up on him from behind. The fellow refusing to stop at the 
word of command. Cook gave him two shots, one of which 
took effect. The body dropped over into the bay and was 
not found. 

While located at Cavite, Evan Evans, whose father was a 
mason, built a large bake oven for the cooking department 
which proved a welcome innovation. Private Robert Cook 
was delegated as engineer at the ice plant. Five men, Sergt. 
William Hiett, Privates Byers, Uvary, Robb and Olson, vol- 
unteered for service in the signal corps, all of them having some 
knowledge of line work. 

The last week in March, 1899, Company M, in company 
with Company C, was ordered to Manila, but not as the boys 
hoped, to go on the fighting line. Instead they were ordered 
to report for guard duty with the 23rd regulars. Among their 
duties was to see that none but English speaking people were 



THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 237 

on the streets after 7:00 p. m., that all native stores were closed 
at that time, and that all saloons were closed at 10:00 o'clock; 
search suspicious looking people for weapons at any time, and 
stop gambling indulged in by the natives around the markets 
and native quarters. 

So anxious were the boys to participate in the real fighting 
that Privates Edwin Merritt, Ernest Dennis and Whitney Mar- 
tin joined a Kansas company and participated in three days 
hard fighting before Malolos. Private Charles E. Arnold 
also participated in this engagement, spending three days on 
the firing line, but his object was to secure photographs of act- 
ual fighting on the battle fields for a company that was getting 
up a book, "Campaigning in the Philippines." The privates 
who absented themselves without leave, brought back with 
them a splendid report from the captain of the company in 
which they fought, which fact doubtless reduced their punish- 
ment for infraction of discipline to the minimum. 

CAMPAIGNING IN THE TROPICS. 
After this the entire regiment did not have long to wait 
before being called into active service. On April 14th the 
second battalion of the 51st was relieved from guard duty in 
the city of Manila and proceeded by train to Malolos, the for- 
mer insurgent capitol, where they relieved the Pennsylvania 
regiment, they going to Cavite. Company M spent the first 
night in the field doing outpost duty in front of the firing line. 
Colonel Miller was in command on account of Col. Loper be- 
ing compelled to remain behind on Corrigedor Island under 
treatment for nervous prostration. Associated with the 51st 
Iowa in their first real military campaign were the 3rd Artillery, 
the 1 St Montana, the 20th Kansas, the Utah Artillery, the South 
Dakota and Nebraska regiments, under Generals Wheaton and 
Hale. This force was arranged to advance on Calumpit, the 
strongest fortified city in the hands of the insurgents. A scout- 



238 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

ing expedition, consisting of a troop of cavalry under Major 
Bell, precipitated the conflict on Sunday, April 23rd. This 
force being attacked on three sides by a greatly superior force. 
Major Hume, with four companies of the Iowa regiment was 
sent to the rescue while Major Moore with companies D, K, 
and M were ordered to act as support. 

The first members of Company M to be engaged, were a 
scouting party composed of Captain Clark, Corporal Binns, 
Privates Hockett, Thomas, Smith, Evan Evans and Sergeant 
Hawkins, who were called out early in the day. Captain 
Clark and Sergeant Hawkins returned to bring out the com- 
pany and the others joined Company L when the firing com- 
menced, and in a few minutes were in the thick of it, and the 
sharpshooters were dropping bullets all around them. One 
of these struck Adrian Hockett, making a wound through the 
fleshy part of the leg. The boys tried to improvise a litter 
while waiting for the hospital corps. Private Bert Thomas ac- 
companied the Chinese litter bearers toward the rear as guard. 
The same sharpshooter kept busy with his Mauser, and Thomas 
was also struck, the bullet entering the leg near the thigh. Both 
of the wounded boys were taken on the afternoon train to 
Manila. 

The regiment was soon in action, and what was thought to 
be a little brush with the enemy turned out to be a general en- 
gagement, and the boys didn't get back for dinner. The town 
of Quinga was captured during the afternoon. It was at this 
battle that Colonel Stotsenberg of the Nebraska regiment lost 
his life. 

The boys lay down that night without any supper. At 
three o'clock they were up again and were ready for another 
day's work. Their breakfast rations consisted of one hard- 
tack, and a can of beef for every eight men. The advance 
continued during the day and Private John Behm, of Company 
M, was added to the list of wounded, a ball passing through 



THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 239 

his left leg. Again the men went supperless to bed, or rather 
to rest, for their resting place was on the ground. However, 
the wagon train showed up about five o'clock in the morning 
so they had a good breakfast before the day's march began. 
The course of progress was over swampy country covered with 
dense vegetation and under a tropic sun, while the water was 
full of salt and alkali. About eleven o'clock the enemy was met 
near the Calumpit river and a fierce battle ensued. The only 
casualties of the day in Company M were two slight wounds 
caused by the bursting of a shrapnel shell in front of the com- 
pany. Samuel Tilden was struck in the side, making a slight 
flesh wound. Clarence Kneedy was also struck by a small 
piece which passed through the sleeve of his coat and grazed 
his wrist. Neither was sufficiently wounded to compel him 
to drop out. Private John Kernan, of Company B, was 
wounded in this engagement, a rifle bullet passing through his 
arm. 

A sharp battle ensued before Calumpit proper and it was 
here that Colonel Funston of the Kansas regiment performed 
one of his spectacular feats of bravery. A member of the 
Kansas regiment swam the river, carrying a rope across. This 
he tied to a tree. A raft containing Colonel Funston and a 
small party of men pulled the raft over, hand over hand. 
Reaching the opposite shore they charged the trenches, routing 
the enemy who retreated and were cut down with rapid fire 
guns. The Iowa and South Dakota regiments crossed the 
Calumpit River at low tide by wading. The men stripped, and 
carried their clothing and equipment across on their heads. 

The Iowa soldiers received much praise from their Dakota 
and Nebraska friends for their action in the three days' fight- 
ing. On the morning of May 2nd, South Dakota, the Fifty- 
First and three guns of the Utah Battery, headed by one troop 
of the Fourth Cavalry, left Calumpit presumably to join the 
left of Colonel Lawton's corps. They waded the Rio Grande 



240 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

river, the Fifty-First following the cavalry which acted as ad- 
vance guard. The first halt was at the village of Pulilan, a 
distance of nine miles. A slight skirmish followed, after which 
the regiment went into camp for the night, which was spent 
in a deluge of rain. The next day they marched back again 
to the Rio Grande river, and three miles beyond to Apalit. 
The morning of May 4th, the brigade was ready for the 

road at 4 :30 o'clock. The Fifty-First regiment led, with Com- 
pany M acting as advance guard. Both the railroad and 
wagon road to San Tomas had been made almost impassable, so 
that part of the distance they waded through the swamp, which 
was a muck of foul mud mixed with decayed vegetation. Added 
to their discomfort was the tropic sun overhead. They toiled 
on, resting at intervals, finally arriving at the city of San Tomas. 
The Iowa regiment camped at the edge of the woods, and at 
1 :30 that night were served some food, the first since 3 :30 
in the morning. This was said by the generals who participated 
in the march and fight, to be the hardest day's work done dur- 
ing the war. The Iowa regiment had only three men wounded 
none of whom were from Company M or Company B. Colonel 
Funston was among the wounded. The next morning. May 
5th, the men were called at 5 :00 o'clock, and although short 
of ammunition, the two battalions of the Iowa regiment, accom- 
panied by a small Nebraska Hotchkiss gun, marched on San 
Fernando, the insurgent capitol, a town of 25,000 people. A 
wide detour was made and the force approached the city from 
the rear, much to the surprise of the insurgents who fled with 
scarcely a show of resistance. To give an idea of the terrible 
effect of campaigning under the conditions just described, it is 
sufficient to say that the Nebraska regiment had only 320 men 
when they marched into San Fernando, out of a thousand 
which they had a short time before, and of these, 1 73 were 
reported sick the morning of their arrival. 



THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 241 

The month of May was spent in guard duty at San Fernando. 
There were occasional skirmishes, but until the 25th no im- 
portant engagement occurred. On the afternoon of this day 
the insurgents marched to the attack while Company M was 
on outpost duty. A sharp engagement followed, the insurg- 
ents being driven back with loss. At 1 :00 o'clock the next 
morning they renewed the attack, the battle continuing most 
of the day. In this engagement. Private Joseph I. Markey was 
severely wounded in the leg. He was carried back to San 
Fernando, a distance of four miles, in the burning sun. As 
none of the men had eaten since the night before, it was an 
exceedingly hard trip. From there he was taken to Manila, 
where he remained in the hospital until his recovery, when he 
was invalided home. 

The next engagement occurred on June 16th, when the in- 
surgents attacked the outposts just before daybreak. They 
were repulsed without trouble, quiet being restored by 8:00 
o'clock. The Filipino loss was about 200 killed. During 
the latter part of June the old Springfield rifles with which the 
regiment had been provided were supplanted by Krag-Jorgen- 
sens. They had their first opportunity to use the new arms 
on the night of June 30th, when they were called out to re- 
pulse an attack at about 1 1 :00 o'clock. 

The rainy season was now on and guard duty was exceed- 
ingly uncomfortable, while the country around was practically 
submerged. On Wednesday, August 8th, a general advance 
was made against the insurgents. Company M acted as a re- 
serve for the Iowa regiment. Early in the advance. Private 
Brenholts, of Company M, was struck by a bullet between the 
knee and ankle, completely shattering both bones, causing an 
ugly wound. It was by far the worst wound any of the boys 
had yet received, and at first it was thought the limb would 
have to be amputated, but later it was found it was not neces- 
sary. The march was through wet marshy ground, part of it 



242 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

newly worked. By noon the cane through which they were 
marching became thoroughly dry and crisp and the leaves cut 
their hands and faces shamefully. A halt was made along the 
road and the regiment went into camp, although they had none 
of their camping equipments with them. They remained here 
for several weeks, their only shelter being such as they erected 
out of the bamboo shacks scattered about, and the hard service 
and poor food sent a good many of them back to quarters at 
San Fernando. 

HOMEWARD BOUND. 

On Sept. 4th, 1899, the Iowa regiment was relieved from 
duty on the line and returned to San Fernando. The last few 
days on duty, the company averaged only about one-fifth of their 
total strength, due to malaria and exposure. However, there 
were no serious illnesses among the men. A day later the 
regiment was taken to Manila where they remained until Sept. 
22nd, when they set sail for home on the transport steamer, the 
Senator. Company M did not lose a single man either in 
battle or by sickness, and Company B lost only one, Rodney 
K. Clark, who died in the hospital at Manila of typhoid fever, 
in August, 1898, during their service in the islands, and all 
but two returned with the regiment. Corporal Chas. L. Binns 
of Company M decided at the last moment to remain, having 
been offered a position as stenographer to the Judge Advocate 
in Lawton's division, and remained in the islands for a year or 
two, later on returning and afterwards going to Chicago where 
he is chief stenographer in the Cook County Criminal Court. 
Tim Erickson, of Company B, re-enlisted in the islands and 
remained. 

The regiment made two stops in Japan, one at Nagasaki 
and the other at Yokohama. A severe storm was encountered 
during the homeward journey during which two men were in- 
jured severely, one of them being Private Ed Stotler of Com- 
pany M. The ship, however, sustained no serious damage, al- 



THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 243 

though a rumor gained credence to the effect that the Senator 
had probably been lost. A splendid welcome met the regi- 
ment when it landed at San Francisco, October 31st. On 
November 1st the regiment was discharged from service £ind 
the same day they started for home. A great reception was 
arranged for the entire regiment at Council Bluffs, but unfortu- 
nately, one section carrying Companies E of Shenandoah, C of 
Glenwood, L of Council Bluffs and M of Red Oak, did not 
reach Council Bluffs in time for the reception. Great recep- 
tions were held at V^illisca for Company B and at Red Oak 
for Company M, especially the latter. Although the train car- 
rying this company did not reach Red Oak until 10:30 and it 
was raining at the time there was a great crowd on hand to 
greet the returning soldiers. A line of m.arch was formed which 
was led by the band and Garfield Post, G. A. R., acted as 
escort. A roman candle brigade made the line of march a 
glare of light. The boys were taken to the Armory where the 
first words of welcome were said. The affair was entirely in- 
form il. At one o'clock in the morning the company dispersed 
and went to their homes. A formal reception was held the 
following day which was participated in by the schools and 
civic societies and the fire department. Another reception was 
held at the Armory in the evening, and by six o'clock the people 
began to assemble in the Armory, although the doors were not 
to be open until 7 :30. Hon. J. M. Junkin presided as master 
of ceremonies and there were talks by a number of the boys, 
including Captain Clark, Morse Moulton, E. Whitney Martin 
and Edwin A. Merritt. A happy incident of the reception was 
the presentation by then Congressman Smith McPherson, now 
federal judge, of a jeweled sword to Lieutenant-Surgeon Don- 
ald Macrae of Council Bluffs on behalf of the private soldiers 
of all the companies of the Fifty-First Iowa. This ceremony 
was intended to have taken place during the reception of the 
regiment at Council Bluffs but had to be postponed because 



244 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

Dr. Macrae was a passenger on the delayed section. Follow- 
ing the reception Company M enjoyed its last mess, a banquet 
being served in the Knights of Pythias hall. Twenty-five 
young ladies, sisters and relatives of the boys, acted as waiters. 
After the banquet the ladies retired and the last mess did not 
adjourn until 3 :00 a. m. 

Both companies were partially recruited from other counties, 
the rosters, which appear in the Appendix, giving the address 
of the members at the time of enlistment. At the end of the 
rosters is given the names of such other Montgomery County cit- 
izens as enlisted for service other than in Companies M or B. 

DEATHS IN CAMP. 

That the camp is more deadly than the battlefield was amply 
proven in the experience of Companies M and B. Each com- 
pany lost five men by death in camp and not one in the field. 
Company B had only two men wounded in action. In this 
respect Company M was more unfortunate, they having seven 
men wounded, besides a young man who was attached to the 
company but was not regularly a member of it, Fred E. Strong 
of Ottumwa, who was wounded at Polo, April, 1899. We 
were able to obtain the following information in regard to the 
deceased members of Company M : 

John E. Ritter was born in New York City, August 26th, 
1 868, and was thirty years old at the time of his death. His 
mother died when he was quite young and his father settled in 
Mexico. John was brought west from a New York orphan 
asylum and was adopted by a family living near College Springs, 
Iowa, where he was brought up. For five years previous to 
his enlistment in Company M he had resided on a farm in Mont- 
gomery County near Stennett. He was a member of the 
Church of Latter Day Saints. Ritter was one of the recuits 
who joined the company after it had reached San Francisco. 
He died at the French hospital in San Francisco July 11,1 898, 
of sarcoma of the intestines, and was buried at the Presido. 



THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 245 

Lucian Ernest Rogers was born near Minburn, Dallas Coun- 
ty, Iowa, April 12th, 1873, and died at Camp Merritt, San 
Francisco, July 15, 1898, of acute appendicitis, age 25 years. 
His father was Daniel F. Rogers, who was born in New 
Hampshire, being the son of N. P. Rogers, lawyer, farmer, 
abolitionist, friend and co-worker with Phillips and Garrison, 
and co-editor of the Herald of Freedom. Lucian was brought 
up on the farm and as he grew up attended high school in a 
neighboring town. He taught school and later attended the 
Agricultural College at Ames, Iowa, where he made rapid 
progress. He was a member of the college football team in 
1894-5. At the end of his junior year in 1896, he came to 
Red Oak to fill a position as teacher of science in the high 
school, a position which he filled for two years up to the time 
of his enlistment and had been re-elected for another year. He 
was a young man of great promise and his untimely death was 
deeply mourned, not only by his comrades, but by the citizens 
in general. Memorial services were held at the Methodist 
Church in Red Oak, Sunday, July 1 7th. The service was 
participated in by the other churches. Judge Horace E. 
Deemer presided over the meeting. The funeral was held at 
the country home of his father July 21st, his body being laid 
to rest in the shadow of the trees in a shady corner where he 
used to play as a boy. 

Verni R. Hysham, son of W. J. Hysham of Red Oak, died 
at St. Luke's hospital at San Francisco, August 20, 1898, of 
typhoid pneumonia. He was one of the youngest members 
of the company, having been born on a farm in Grant township, 
July 30th, 1880. His parents moved to Red Oak when he 
was quite young and most of his short life was spent in that 
city. He was vivacious, full of life, and a general favorite 
with the company. His body was brought to Red Oak on 
Thursday, August 25th, the funeral being held on the same 
afternoon. 



246 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

Shortly after the regimental camp was moved to the Presidio 
an epidemic of measles started. One of the victims w^as Ellery 
E. Mills of Cass County, a member of Company M. Unfor- 
tunately, while suffering with this disease he was taken with 
pneumonia and died, Sept. 1 4th. He was born in Cass Coun- 
ty Sept. 24th, 1874, being the son of Solomon B. Mills, a 
native of Indiana. His life was spent on a farm in Cass County, 
where he attended district school and later a business college at 
Atlantic. He was an active member of the Methodist Church. 
He came to Red Oak and enlisted under Lieutenant French 
after the Fifty-First had gone to San Francisco. He was mus- 
tered into service June 14th, being assigned to Company M. 
His body was brought home for burial and interment was made 
at Atlantic. 

Among the members of Company M left behind when the 
regiment sailed for the Philippines was Earl J. McCament, who 
was taken sick with typhoid fever a few days previous to the 
sailing. He grew worse and died at the Presidio hospital No- 
vember 24th. He was born November 1 8th, 1 867, at Bladen- 
burg, Ohio, being the son of Alexander McCament. The 
family moved to Red Oak in 1879 residing on a farm most of 
the time. Later Earl went to Red Oak where he engaged in 
clerking and at one time was in partnership with Guy E. Logan 
in the restaurant business. He had been a member of the Red 
Oak Fire Department for several years. He enlisted on June 
14th and was sent to San Francisco with the recruits, being 
assigned to Company M. The funeral was attended by the 
fire department in uniform, interment being in the Red Oak 
Cemetery. 

DARWIN R. MERRITT. 

As stated elsewhere in this chapter the people of Montgom- 
ery County had a special interest in the Spanish-American war, 
due to the fact that one of the two officers who lost their lives 



THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 247 

on the ill-fated battleship Maine, when it was blown up in 
Havana harbor, was a native and resident of Montgomery 
County. Assistant Engineer Darwin R. Merritt was bom in 
Red Oak, April 12th, 1872. The early part of his life was 
spent on his father's farm. He attended what was known as 
the Milner school, and afterwards, the city schools in Red Oak. 
He finished his civil education in the Western Normal college 
at Shenandoah. In 1 89 1 he was named as alternate candidate 
for a naval cadetship from the Ninth Congressional District to 
the academy at Annapolis. The regular appointee, a young 
man from Audubon, Iowa, failed to pass the examination, leav- 
ing the field open for Darwin. Although having made no 
special preparation for such an examination he spent the inter- 
vening time in study and received the appointment September 
10, 1891. He graduated in 1895, ranking third in a class of 
eighty-four, of whom forty-one passed. He was a member of 
his class foot ball team in 1 894 and played center on the regular 
team in 1895* being a substitute in the famous game between 
West Point and Annapolis that year, in which the army was 
beaten by the navy. After finishing his regular course he spent 
two years cruising along the Atlantic coast on the Amphitrite 
and Indiana. He was coach for the Indiana foot ball team. 
He concluded his six years' course July 1st, 1897, and after 
several months' service at the Brooklyn navy yard, was as- 
signed to the berth of assistant engineer on the Maine. 

When the news came that the Maine had been blown up 
in Havana Harbor on the night of February 15, 1898, it was 
learned that Darwin was one of the two officers that were miss- 
ing. The report was a great shock to the community and es- 
pecially so to the young man's family. The following account 
of his death was given by David F. Boyd, a cadet of the Maine 
and the last person to see him alive: Boyd stated that he was 
sitting in the steerage of the Maine when the explosion oc- 
curred, with Assistant Engineer D. R. Merritt, both of whom 



248 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

were reading. Suddenly the lights were extinguished and a 
tremendous shock, accompanied by flying splinters and the 
sound of crashing bulkheads, was heard. For an instant he 
was dazed and was then struck by a flying splinter in the back 
of the neck. When he collected his wits he grasped Engineer 
Merritt by the hand but the latter must have been struck and 
dazed for he had to be dragged out into the passage in the 
after torpedo room and the tremendous flow of water swept 
them apart. Boyd managed to grasp a steam heater pipe and 
worked his way on deck. 

The following were among the letters of condolence re- 
ceived by Mr. Merritt, father of the young man: 

U. S. S. Essex, Port Royal, S. C. 
February 18th, 1898. 
Hon. W. W. Merritt: 

The disaster on board the Maine has deprived the navy 
of a bright and promising young officer, you of a son, and 
me of a friend I knew young Merritt very well and we 
were as intimate as officers of our difference in age and 
rank get to be. A.s an officer, he was respected by all ; as 
a gentleman, he was liked by all. You have my most 
heartfelt sympathy — but you may rest assured that your son 
did not disgrace his friends, his profession or his family. 
Yours respectfully, JOHN W. STEWART, 

Lieut. U. S. Navy. 

24 Porter Row, U. S. Naval Academy. 
Annapolis, Md., Feb. 18, 1898. 
My Dear Merritt: 

Though perhaps this is ill-timed, I feel that I must 
write you concerning your son. I have been greatly af- 
fected by the terrible news from Havana, and have hoped 
against faith that I would learn that after all your son had 
escaped and was at least among the wounded. I was, per- 



THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 249 

haps, as well acquainted with him as anybody in the ser- 
vice, and can easily say that I loved him as a brother. He 
was in my company here at the academy as a cadet, sat 
at my table, and I was shipmate with him for fourteen 
months, so I feel that I knew him well. He was a favorite 
with his seniors, both because of his professional attain- 
ments, and because of his personal good fellowship and 
staunchness. An officer of high rank, with whom your 
son was at one time serving, once told me that he would 
rather have Merritt on board and in charge of his engines 
than all the rest of the engineer officers combined. Words 
fail me to express all I feel, but I want you to believe in my 
heartfelt sympathy and that I mourn deeply with you. I 
trust you will accept my sympathy for you and yours in 
this sad affliction, and believe me ready to be of any service 
you may find use of in one so feeble. With great respect, 

W. S. CROSLEY, 
Ensign U. S. N. 
Rev. and Dear Sir: 

It grieves me exceedingly to state that the bodies of 
Lieut. Jenkins and Engineer Merritt have not yet been 
recovered. The divers have been searching for them for 
the last week, but the work has been greatly obstructed 
by debris in the part of the ship where the bodies are 
supposed to be. However, they have cut this away and 
expect to recover the bodies in a day or two. When re- 
covered the body will be forwarded to you. We are pre- 
pared to send it. Your boy was a noble son. He cer- 
tainly showed your training in his quiet, respectful, rever- 
ential conduct. He was a great favorite with his fellow- 
officers. I can assure you that his conduct aboard ship 
was without reproach. I sympathize with you deeply in 
this terrible affliction, and pray that God will strengthen £uid 
comfort you in your great loss. Yours in prayers, 

JOHN P. CHIDWICK. 
Chaplain of the Maine. 



250 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

The body was never recovered and probably rests in the 
junior officers' wardroom in the wreck of the Maine in Havana 
harbor. When all hope of recovering the body was given up, 
memorial services were held in the Armory at Red Oak Sunday 
afternoon, April 15th, the circumstances rendering it the most 
impressive public services held in Red Oak up to that time. 
The services were presided over by Mr. John Hayes, the speak- 
ers being Rev. E. C. Moulton, Judge H. E. Deemer, Hon. 
Smith McPherson and C. E. Richards. At the close of the 
latter's remarks he read the following resolutions of respect which 
were adopted: 

Resolved, That in the untimely death of Darwin R. Merritt 
while in discharge of his duties as a naval officer of the United 
States, which occurred by the blowing up of the battleship 
Maine in the Havana harbor on the 15th of February, 1898, 
his relatives have sustained an irreparable loss, and the general 
government has lost a citizen and naval officer distinguished alike 
for uprightness, purity and unselfishness of character, for sim- 
plicity and courtesy of manner, for true loyalty to the govern- 
ment which educated him, and assigned him to that official 
position he so justly earned by the assiduous toil of a student's 
life. 

That his loss at the very threshold of an active and useful 
life in the naval service of his country falls grievously alike upon 
his relatives, this community and the nation. Though his body 
lies entombed in the mess-room of that wrecked battleship, or 
perchance buried in the turbid waters of Havana harbor, his 
noble traits of character sank not with him, but remain as a 
lasting monument which time can not efface. 

That sympathy for his immediate relatives in this, their griev- 
ous loss, is universally felt by this community. 

That a copy of these resolutions be sent to his family and a 
copy also to the naval academy at Annapolis to be filed in the 
archives of that institution from which he graduated, his alma 
mater. 



CHAPTER XXVIII 



RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS IN THE COUNTY. 

The history of the churches of the county is inadequate, 
owing to the difficulty of procuring data concerning them. The 
author sent notice to pastors that he was preparing this history 
and requested a reply, giving name of church, date of organiza- 
tion, list of pastors and any other information which might 
be of value. It is regrettable that some failed to respond. 
The clerk of the Methodist Church of Red Oak furnished the 
names of its pastors and time of service only. The accompany- 
ing comments are the author's. 

METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF RED 

OAK. 

Rev. Samuel Farlow, a Methodist circuit rider, whose home 
was in Clarinda, Iowa, preached the first sermon in the town of 
Red Oak. The meeting was held in a log cabin, the home of 
L. N. Harding, situated near a spring on what is now East 
Coolbaugh street. The congregation consisted of Mr. and 
Mrs. Harding, their two children, and Chris. Worthner and 
wife, neighbors of Mr. Harding. Rev. J. T. Hughes held 
meetings in the same place. He was the first Methodist 
clergyman whose appointments were in places within Mont- 
gomery County, being assigned to this field by the conference 
held at Muscatine, Iowa. He was a circuit rider without a 
horse, and walked all of the way from that city, arriving, in 
due time, at the home of Mr. W. T. Reed, who lived in a 
cabin near the present town of Grant. Mr. Hughes is now 



252 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY OUNTY 

living at Conway, Iowa, at a ripe old age, the ward of his 
church. He and one other were the only preachers in at- 
tendance upon the M. E. Conference held at Atlantic in 1 894 
who were present at the conference held at Muscatine when 
he was assigned to this field. The only certain reliance for 
the support of that young man was in a missionary society in 
New York which engaged to send him forty dollars a year, 
to be paid quarterly. On the strength of this credit, he tried 
to negotiate with Joe Bean for a pair of boots. Mr. Bean 
said to him, "I presume you tell the truth, but New York is a 
long ways off, and as you are a stranger, I will keep the boots.'* 
Upon arriving at Frankfort, nearly barefooted, he met Mr. 
Solomon Stout and explained to him his mission and his lack 
of foot gear. Mr. Stout said, "I am not the most exemplary 
man in the world, but my mother, away back in Kentucky, 
was a good Methodist woman. I will trust you for a pair of 
boots." Mr. John Murray, learning of the incident, took up 
a collection among the officers at the court house and the boots 
were not only bought but paid for that same day — in answer 
to prayer, as Mr. Hughes declared afterwards. 

The first regular place for holding religious meetings in Red 
Oak was a small school house, built by subscription and sit- 
uated near the freight depot. The first Sunday School was 
organized by J. M. Hewitt, with sixteen pupils, Mr. Hewitt 
being the superintendent. The writer held religious services 
there July 10, 1859. Rev. Clerry, a Baptist preacher, was 
present. He proposed to administer an antidote for the poison 
of liberalism at his next meeting and announced his subject, 
"Hell and Its Duration." 

The records now extant of the pioneer preachers of the 
Methodist Church would show that J. S. Rand preached in 
this vicinity in the year 1 86 1 , at which time Red Oak was em- 
braced in the Frankfort Circuit. Rev. R. W. Thornburg 
and Rev. B. F. Coe were preachers in charge in the years 



RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS 253 

1 863 and 1 864. Mr. Coe's wife was the sister of Ret Clark- 
son, a long time editor of the Des Moines Register. The 
church records show that the minister's salary was $500 per 
annum and the elders' portion from the circuit was $65 per 
annum. The next pastor v/as J. F. Hughes, who was in 
charge in 1864 to 1865. In 1865, W. F. Laidley became 
minister and the following year, in the month of April, the 
society was incorporated. The incorporators were J. M. He- 
witt, Leander Sickman, J. E. Gepford, H. H. Burris, M. J. 
Latimer and W. F. Laidley. Red Oak was made a station 
in 1 869. The first church, on the site of the present residence 
of Mrs. M. E. Crandall, corner Sixth and Hammond streets, 
was built in 1868, the contract price being $1,082.50. The 
second church, located across the street south from the first 
one, was built at a cost of $22,000.00. This served its pur- 
pose for about a quarter of a century when it was torn down 
to make room for the present structure, costing approximately 
$40,000.00. 

The following table shows the names of the preachers, time 
employed and length of service from 1863 to date: 

J. S. Rand, circuit, 1861 ; R. W. Thornburg, circuit, 1861 ; 
B. W. Coe, 1863-1864; J. T. Hughes, 1864-1865; W. F. 
Laidley, 1865-1867; A. J. Andrus, 1867-1869; P. St. Clair. 
1869-1871; J. M. Holmes, 1871-1873; P. F. Bresee, 1873- 
1876; C. H. Ryman, 1876-1878; H. H. O'Neal, 1878- 
1881; L. Woodsworth, 1881-1882; J. W. Webb, 1882- 
1884; J. C. Stephens, 1884-1887; D. Austin, 1887-1888; 
W. F. Bartholemew, 1888-1890; W. H. Shipman, 1890- 
1893; A. B. Buckner, 1893-1896; J. S. Wright, 1896-1897; 
W. H. Cable, 1897-1898; A. M. Shea, 1898-1899; W. G. 
Hohanshelt, 1899-1902; E. M. Holmes, 1902-1904; E. W. 
McDade. 1904 . 



254 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

THE FIRST METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH 

OF VILLISCA 
was organized in 1866 by Rev. Wm. T. Reed, with a mem- 
bership of eight persons. The following named pastors have 
served the church: S. Mulligan, A. J. Andres, W. T. Smith, 
T. P. Newland, Adam Burris, R. M. Smith, W. J. Beck, 
Benj. F. Durfee, W. A. Chambers. W S. Hooker, Wilbur F. 
Laidley, H. J. Everly, C. C. Mabee, A P. Hull, A. T. 
Jeffrey, Fred Harris, A. W. Armstrong, J. F. Campbell, J, F. 
Blanchard, W. B. Redburn, W. G. Hohanshelt, W. M. Dud- 
ley, C. J. English, Peter Van Dyke Vedder. The church 
has a membership of 505, and a Sunday School of 3.50 and an 
Epworth League of 125 members. Under the present pastor, 
there has been a brotherhood whose work is among men and 
boys, seeking to lead them into a religious life and up to good 
citizenship. The first church was built at a cost of $3,000.00; 
the present imposing building was erected at a cost of $15,- 
000.00 and was dedicated by Bishop Jos. F. Berry December 
27, 1896. 

THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH AT 
ELLIOTT 

was organized in 1 880. List of pastors and time of service is 
as follows: William Patterson, 1880-1883; E. E. Ilgenfritz, 
1883-1886; T. G. Aten, 1886; J. G. Bourne, 1887; A. C 
Rawls, 1888-1889; G. W. Maine, 1890-1891 ; J. W. Neely. 
1 892 ; E. H. Curtis, 1 893 ; A. R. Miller, 1 894 ; A. T. Andres, 
1895-1896; S. E. Brown, 1897-1898; C. W. Brewer, 1899- 
1900; G. Winterbourne, 1901 ; A. T. Coe, 1902-1903; F. 
T. Stevenson, 1904. The present pastor, F. T. Stevenson, 
reports that very few of the veterans of the church are left. 

THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF 

HOLMES' CHAPEL 

was dedicated the 1 8th day of August, 1 890. Rev. Fletcher 

Brown delivered the dedicatory sermon. The names of the 



RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS 255 

clergymen who have served the church — though perhaps not 
given in the order of their service — were Revs. Palmer, Harvey, 
Vorhees, Mayne, Martin, Menohor, Trueblood, Bates, Cald- 
well and Duling. 

CHURCHES AT ARLINGTON. 
The METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH was de- 
dicated in 1905 and the PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH is 
held at Arlington Schoolhouse near the Arlington Mill. There 
is also a CHRISTIAN CHURCH a short distance north 
of Holmes' Chapel. 

THE FRANKFORT METHODIST EPISCOPAL 
CHURCH 
was first organized and the house built in 1888. This was 
used until 1903, when a new structure was erected on the site 
of the old one at a cost of $3,000. Rev. W. G. Hohanshelt 
delivered the dedicatory sermon. The preachers were Revs. 
Harvey, Bourne, Trueblood, Buckner, Jackson, Caldwell, 
Johnson, Wright, McDade, and the present pastor. Rev. Mead. 

THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF 
GRANT 

reports that a new and commodious church building has re- 
cently been erected and dedicated this year — 1906. 

The first sermon within the confines of the present charge 
was preached some time during the winter of 1855 by Rev. 
James F. Rand. This sermon was preached at the Donoho 
home on the east side of the Nodaway river at the time of 
the marriage of Samuel McNeely and Martha Donoho. 

The society was organized during the winter of 1855-6. 
The original members were Mr. and Mrs. William Stipe, 
David Stipe, Allan Donoho and family, Samuel McNeely and 
family, Willian Reed and family. Reed Donoho and wife. 
This society was connected with the Frankfort charge and Rev. 
Farlow and Rev. Hobart at different times acted as pastor. 



256 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

Subsequently the Red Oak charge was established, and this 
charge was added to it. At this time, all of Montgomery 
county and a large part of Cass county were in the same charge. 
Eventually Red Oak was made a separate charge and Grant 
and Villisca were spoken of as the center of a new charge. The 
society at Grant about this time was able to build a parsonage. 

The old log school house which was first regularly used as 
a place for holding the meetings is now being used by Mrs. A. 
C. Miller as a chicken house. 

The first quarterly conference of the Milford (Grant) circuit 
was held at Grant, Oct. 16, 1869. Rev. W. T. Smith was 
the pastor in charge and Rev. Holliday was the presiding elder. 

In 1874 a frame church was erected at a cost of $2,700. 
It was dedicated March 14, 1875, by Rev. A. J. Andrews. 
This church has served the society as a place of worship till the 
present time. In 1 880 the membership was approximately 80. 

Following will be found the names of the pastors of the 
charge with the year in which their service began, as nearly as 
possible to ascertain: 

Rand, 1855; Mulhollen, 1856; Farlow, 1857; Hobart, 
1858; Andres, 1859; Williams, 1861; Thornberg, 1863; 
Reed, 1864; Donoho, 1864; Laidley, 1866; Smith, 1869; 
Newlon, 1870; Archer, 1872; Reed, 18 73; Sheets, 
1873; Booth, 1875; Osborn, 1878; Plumb, 1879; Randolph. 
1880; Hartley, 1882; Branston, 1883; Adair, 1884; Stevens. 
1886; Harvey, 1887; Palmer, 1889; Voorhees, 1890; Mar- 
tin, 1891 ; Main, 1893; Maxon, 1 895 ; Deitrich, 1896; Bourne 
1898; Menoher, 1889; Bates, 1901; Caldwell, 1902; True- 
blood, 1903; Duling, 1904. 

THE PILOT GROVE CENTER M. E. CHURCH. 
Before the erection of this church, meetings were held in the 
Pilot Grove Center Schoolhouse, at which place Revs. Frank- 
lin, Yockey, Armstrong, Evans and Gibson preached. About 
twenty years ago, a church building was erected and Revs. 




FIRST METHODIST CHURCH AT^RED OAK., ABOUT 1868. 




RESIDENCE J. W. WELPTON, RED OAK— Where first issues Montgomery County Express were 
issued in 1868. 



RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS 257 

Aten, Neeley, Rawls, Ilginfritz, Maine, Miller, Bourne, Curtis, 
Andrews, Brown and Brenner have been the pastors. The 
church building was greatly improved fourteen years ago. The 
membership is about eighty. 

THE STRATTON M. E. CHURCH, SHERMAN 
TOWNSHIP 

was dedicated Aug. 1 7th, 1 900, T. M. Stewart preaching the 
dedicatory sermon. Value of church, $2,200. Subsequent 
pastors have been : A. C. Rawls, C. W. Main, J. W. Neeley, 
E. H. Curtis, A. R. Miller, B. M. Buckner, F. Holiday, H. 
C. Johnson, C. Hooker, F. M. Jackson, M. H. Rambo, J. W. 
Caldwell, N. Johnson, W. Wright, E. C. McDade, F. M. 
Mead. 

THE BINNS CHAPEL (METHODIST) 
was built about twenty-five years ago at Binns' Grove, Page 
County. It was used for meetings a few years and then re- 
moved to Grant Township about sixteen years ago. Three 
or four years ago it was torn down and the material was used 
in the construction of a Methodist parsonage at Stanton. 

THE M. E. CHURCH OF STANTON 
was built in 1 900. It has not a large membership, being over- 
shadowed by the other churches of the town. Rev. Calvert 
is the present pastor. 

THE FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF 

RED OAK. 
In 1869, preliminary steps towards establishing a Congrega- 
tional Church in Red Oak were taken by Dr. John Todd of 
Tabor and Rev. O. W. Cooley. Previous to this, the Congre- 
gationalists had worshipped with the Presbyterians. In Aug- 
ust, 1870, a meeting was held in the Baptist Church of Red 
Oak to consider the matter of organization. Rev. G. C. 
Hicks was chairman and T. F. Willis secretary. A confession 
of faith, covenant and constitution were presented and adopted 



258 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

at this meeting. Lyman Banks was instructed to procure a site 
for a church building. In 1 870 the organization was complete 
and officers were elected in 1871 as follows: Deacons, Lyman 
Banks and E. M. Carey; Trustees, V. D. Stoddard, Alfred 
Hebard and Isaac Hull. Pastors of the church have been as 
follows : 

G. C. Hicks, 1870. Following Rev. Hicks. Dr. R. B. 
Bement was employed for a few months, and irregular ser- 
vices were kept up during 1873. Rev. George Dodson, 
1873; C. T. Melvin, 1874-1875; Rev. J. Allender, 1876- 
1884; E. A. Leeper, 1884-1889; E. C. Moulton, 1890-1897; 
George LeGrand Smith, 1897-1902. The same year, the 
church called Rev. Chas. P. Boardman of Marshalltown, who 
is the present pastor. The membership of the church is 252, 
with a comfortable church building and a large parsonage. 
During the pastorate of Rev. Dodson, a church building was 
erected, and during the period intervening between Dr. Leep- 
er's resignation and the calling of Rev. Moulton, the church 
was practically rebuilt, at a cost of $4,000.00. 

THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH ONE MILE 

EAST OF WALES 
was built in 1876 at a cost of $2,000 and has a membership 
of one hundred. J. L. Thomas, now a citizen of Red Oak, 
donated one and one-half acres of land for the erection of the 
church and parsonage. Samuel Jones served the church as 
pastor four years. He was followed by Revs. T. D. Thomas, 
Samson, Evans, Robert Thomas and Davis. 

THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF RED 

OAK 

was organized June 13, 1869. First house of worship built 
in 1871. Present house built in 1894. The organizations of 
the church are the Sabbath School, Christian Endeavor So- 
cieties — Senior and Junior — Woman's Missionary Society and 



RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS 259 

the Ladies' Social Circle. Session: A. L. Smith, Hugh 
Gunn, L. C. Thompson, M. D., David Artz, John Stocks- 
lager, J. C. Mickle. Membership 252. Dr. Silas Cook» 
Pastor. 

THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF PILOT 
GROVE 
was organized in the winter of 1876 and officers selected. The 
committee in charge of the building of a church edifice con- 
sisted of Ex-Sheriff T. Martin, John Askey and J. H. McKib- 
ben. The present membership is estimated at fifty or sixty. 
The preachers who have been employed as supplies were Revs. 
T. H. Hunter, McAfee, Linn, Smith, Watt, McNinch and 
others. 

THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH AT VILLISCA 
was organized in 1871 with thirteen members. After about 
twenty-eight years, the old church was discarded and a new 
brick building was erected. It is a prosperous church and has 
had some very able preachers, including Rev. Brown, T. H. 
Hunter and the present preacher. Rev. Driver. 

THE UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF 

RED OAK 

was organized Oct. 31, 1 871 . Pastors who served the church: 

N. E. Wade, S. W. Lorimer, W. R. Cox, J. A. Wiley, J. D. 

Graham, S. E DuBois, and William Murchie, present pastor. 

THE UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF 
PLEASANT LAWN 
was organized Dec. 15, 1885. Pastors, in order of their ser- 
vice, were: W. R. Cox, J. A. Wiley, J. D. Graham, S. E. 
DuBois, D. M. Montgomery, N. A Whitehall. 

1 HE UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF 
INDIAN CREEK 
was organized June 1, 1882. Pastors: W. R. Cox, Robert 
Hood, G. F. Brochett, C. C. Potter, J. P. Griffin. 



260 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

THE UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF 
CENTER RIDGE 
was organized June 1, 1887. Pastors: T. T. Miller, Robert 
Hood, G. F. Brochett, C. C. Potter and J. P. Griffin. 

THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF RED OAK 
was organized Aug. 31, 1856. Pastors as follows: James 
Renfrow, White, Lambert, James Morris, Nov. 1 866- ; R. R. 
Hanley, Dec. 1868.Aug. 1869; W. P. Patterson, Aug. 1869- 
Feb. 1872; J. R. Shanafelt, March 1874-April 1875; E. Al- 
ward, Dec. 1874-April 1876; W. P. Patterson, 1876-Oct. 
1877; A. V. Bloodgood, Dec. 1877-Oct. 1879; E. P. Sav- 
age, Jan. 1880-Jan. 1882; H. B. Foskett, May 1882-Sept. 
1885; A. W. Edson, April 1886-Oct. 1888; F. P. Haggard, 
Feb. 1889-Nov. 1891; F. P. Leech, Jan. 1892-June 1897; 
John Shaw, Dec. 1897-Feb. 1903; W. M. Martin, June 1903. 
Mr. Martin is the present pastor. The value of the church 
is about $8,000 and of the parsonage $4,000. 

THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF VILLISCA 
was constituted May 30, 1 869 by Rev. C. C. Baird, Mission- 
ary of the Southwestern Iowa Association in the year 1870. 
Their house of worship was the first good church building of 
brick erected in Villisca. The congregation outgrew the 
frame building and it was sold and moved, now being used as 
an opera house. 

THE BAPTIST CHURCH AT SCIOLA 
has filled an important place in the religious, social and educa- 
tional life of the people of the Valley of the Nodaway. It has 
now fallen into partial disuse through removal or death of those 
who have been its strength and support. 

THE FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST OF RED OAK 
was organized May 1871. The pastors were Elders Ander- 
son, Hover, Stanly, Black, Lockhart, Cotton, Hardman, Wei- 



RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS 261 

mer, Morrison, Van Kirk, Bowers, Ingram, Price, Walters, 
Cies and Nichol, the last named being the present pastor. 

THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF VILLISCA 
was organized March 1894. The names of the pastors are 
as follows: H. N. Allen, M. G. E. Bennett, J. K. Hester, 
W. P. Shamhart and the present pastor, S. M. Perkins, who 
has been with the church nearly five years — the longest pastor- 
ate held by the congregation. The church holds a conspicious 
place in the religious life of Villisca and embraces in its mem- 
bership people of influence in socety. 

THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF ELLIOTT 
was the first church ever built in that town. It originally be- 
longed to the United Presbyterians and was bought by the 
Christian Church in 1883 at a valuation of $1,000. The 
present membership is about thirty. E. J. Stanley was pastor 
five years, and was followed by Ebert Dale, Gregg, Van Kirk, 
and perhaps others, with Rev. Ross as the present pastor. 

THE SWEDISH LUTHERAN CHURCH OF RED 

OAK 
was organized in 1872 by Rev. A. Skeppstedt, with fifteen 
charter members. He died in Sweden in 1880. The other 
pastors of the church, in the order of their pastorate, were: 
J. E. Rehnstrom, who died in Lockport, 111., in 1890; J. C. D. 
Osterholm, who died in Red Oak in 1 887 ; A. J. Rydin, A. B. 
Lilja, C. A. Ramstedt, who died in Illinois in 1895; E. J. 
Nordin and F. V. Hanson, B. D., the present pastor. A 
permanent place of worship was erected in 1874 at a cost of 
$ 1 ,400.00. Its first location was on the northeast comer of 
First Avenue and West Second Street and was removed to 
Reed Street in 1 886. This was replaced in 1 904 by an elegant 
structure costing $ 1 1 ,000.00. The church has a membership 
of 435. 



262 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

THE SWEDISH EVANGELICAL MISSION 
CHURCH OF STANTON 
was organized in 1 878. They have a good building and par- 
sonage valued at $4,000. The first pastor was E. Noren, who 
served the church until 1902, when he removed to California. 
Their present pastor is C. Roslin. 

THE SWEDISH EVANGELICAL CHURCH OF 
RED OAK 
was organized in 1 884. The church was erected in 1 902, and, 
together with the parsonage, is valued at $13,000. The first 
pastor was Rev. G. N. Tegnell. Present pastor. Rev. C. V. 
Anderson. Membership, 125. 

THE LUND SWEDISH EVANGELICAL LUTHER- 
AN CONGREGATION 
was organized at the home of John Sillingson one mile south 
of Stanton, and the first church was erected the same year but 
was not finished and dedicated until 1875, Rev. Halland be- 
ing their first pastor. In 1884 the present church was built 
and is one of the finest churches in the state. The audience 
room is beautifully frescoed and painted. It has a pipe organ 
that cost over $2,000. The church is 1 00x80 feet, with walls 
22 feet high and with a steeple 168 feet high. A. J. Oslin 
succeeded Rev. Halland in 1 883 and remained in charge until 
1895, when he was followed by J. E. Rydback. Rev. Ryd- 
back remained until 1 903 when C. A. Randolph took charge 
of the flock and is now their pastor. There are about 800 
communicants and 300 children. 

ST. MARY'S CATHOLIC CHURCH 
dedicated their second building in 1902. This was erected at 
a cost of $7,000. Their present pastor is Father W. J. Quinn. 

THE CALVANISTIC METHODISTS 
built a church at Wales in 1877 and five or six years ago a 
new church was built. The membership is made up of Welsh 
people. Preachers: John Jones, Miles and Jones. 



CHAPTER XXIX 



A CHAPTER OF MISCELLANIES. 



FOUNDING OF THE FIRST NEWSPAPER. 

One of the historically important events in a pioneer com- 
munity is the foundation of its first newspaper. In the case of 
Montgomery County the man who founded and edited its 
first journal is still living and the author was able to secure 
Mr. Eaton's own account of the founding of The Red Oak 
Express. It is so well told and so full of interesting early inci- 
dents that it is included in this book practically as it was written. 
Mr. Eaton says: 

"As I recollect it now — I have no definite record — the first 
number of The Express was issued March 21,1 868. A few 
of the first numbers of the paper were issued from the office of 
the Adams County Gazette, then located at Quincy, the county 
seat of Adams County. The first press and type arrived in 
April of the same year. It was an old-fashioned Foster hand 
press — a regular "man killer," one grade better than a cheese 
press, but with energy and hard work, good results could be ob- 
tained. I purchased this press from Hon. Mat Waldon, Ed- 
itor of the Centerville Citizen, afterwards Lieutenant Governor 
and Member of Congress. With the press, I purchased the 
entire old dress of the Citizen, and the entire outfit was brought 
overland in a wagon from Centerville, Appanoose County, to 
Red Oak. 

"The first compositors to set type on The Express were Wil- 
liam and Timothy Wilkins ; the last named was familiarly called 



264 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

"Doc" and will be remembered by old residents. The first 
"devil" was Roy Burris, and, like Mark Tapley, he was always 
jolly. He did not have much to do, however, those days; 
his work was to ink all forms with a roller, distribute the "pi," 
take care of the fires, open and sweep the office, carry the paper 
and do little things like that, and occasionally set the reprint. 
Sometimes, during the first year of the existence of The Ex- 
press, Aaron Burr Marshall took charge of the mechanical de- 
partment of the office, and at his request, his name was put 
in the paper as publisher and my name was carried as editor 
and proprietor. At that time I was also editor and proprietor 
of the Adams County Gazette. 

"I had a pair of ponies which I drove across the country, a 
distance of about twenty-five miles, once or twice a week. I 
did not move to Red Oak until the spring of 1 869. Mr. Mar- 
shall continued with the paper several months, till his death. 
He died suddenly at the old Exchange Hotel, located a little 
east and south of the then new schoolhouse. At that time 
the Exchange Hotel was on the very outskirts of the city. Mr. 
Marshall kept his own secrets, and at the time of his death, 
no one in town knew that he had a relative in the world. I 
had learned that he had at one time worked on the Ottumwa 
Courier and telegraphed that paper, and after poor Marshall 
had been buried in the graveyard south of town, word was re- 
ceived from his married sister living somewhere in Wapello 
County, and her husband came up and settled up his matters 
and erected a stone over his grave. Rev. Patterson, a Baptist 
clergyman, conducted the funeral services, and while not a 
relative or an acquaintance of more than a year was present, 
the mourners were not a few. 

"When the press and type arrived from Centerville, it was 
difficult to find room suitable for an office, and the only build- 
ing that could be had was a frame dwelling house, situated 
just across Red Oak creek on the south side of town, belonging 





MRS. DAVID ELLISON— Wife of the first lawyer 
in county at Frankfort. 



MRS. C. W. MERCER— Daughter of Wm. Stipe, 
one of the oldest residents of Douglas town- 
ship. 





TABITHA LOWE STENNETT— Wife of Chas. 
Stcnnett and daughter of A. G. Lowe, the 
first County Judge. Has resided in county 
since March, 1852. 



ENSIGN DARWIN ROBERT MERRITT, De- 
ceased — A victim of destruction of the battle- 
ship Maine in Havana harbor. 




C. K. KENNEDY— For more than 25 years the 
editor of the Villisca Review. Now proprie- 
tor Atlantic Messenger. 



MAJ. C. W. SNYDER— Former editor of the Red 
Oak Express. (1883-1890) 




WEBSTER EATON— The founder of the Red Oak 
Express, March, 1S6.S. Author of article on 
"Founding the Express" in this book. 



DAVID ELLISON— The first permanently settled 
lawyer in the^county, at Frankfort. Distin- 
guished as an officer in the Union army. 



MISCELLANIES 265 

to B. E. A. Simons, Esq. (the residence of the late John 
Welpton) and he very kindly allowed us to occupy it until 
more central quarters could be had. From that house, the 
office was moved in a few weeks into the second story of a 
frame store building at the northeast corner of the square. The 
building at that time belonged to W. H. Kerrihard (Uncle 
Billy) who also owned a mill just west of town. The same 
building was afterwards purchased by Mr. Loomis of Ottumwa. 

"Within a year from the first issue of the Express, the paper 
was in a home of its own on the west side of the square, a tv/o- 
story brick, the second story being occupied as its quarters, 
while the first floor was used as a drug store by Anderson & 
Martin. The building was the first brick business house 
erected in Red Oak, but it has long since been torn down to 
make room for a more substantial structure. I think it was 
about the end of the first year that the name of the paper was 
changed from Montgomery County Express to The Red Oak 
Express, and it was during the second year of its life that the 
old hand press was taken out to make room for a Campbell 
cylinder press. The old Foster subsequently found a home in 
the town of Harlan, Iowa, in the office of the Shelby County 
Record. The Campbell press was purchased of B. F. Mont- 
gomery of Council Bluffs and had been used in printing the 
Daily Democrat, a short lived paper that had departed this 
life several months before, the same press being the one origin- 
ally used by "Brick" Pomeroy in printing the La Crosse Dem- 
ocrat, and was removed to give place to a more rapid machine. 

"The brick building was sold about the year 1870, and The 
Express then found a home in a two story frame building just 
south of the southwest corner of the square near Red Oak 
Creek, and there it continued to do business till I sold out to 
Simons & Fisher in 1872. 

"The first job press brought into Montgomery County was 
an eighth medium Gordon. It was purchased of Marder, 



266 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

Luse & Co., of Chicago, and was shipped to Villisca, coming 
in on about the first train that arrived at that place, and from 
there it was brought by wagon to Red Oak. It cost $250 
and to say that we were proud of that machine does not ex- 
press it. We advertised loud and long that we were prepared, 
with all the latest kinds of machines, to do first-class job work, 
and if we failed to make our word good, it must have been be- 
cause we did not know how or because we did not have time, 
for we were crowded almost night and day for months. 

"When first issued. The Express was a six column folio, and 
later on it was published as a nine column folio. When the 
B. & M. Railroad reached Red Oak Junction, good times 
came also and the city grew fast. Business of all kinds was 
good and for more than a year, before the year 1872, The Ex- 
press was published as a small daily. From the very first, the 
paper had the undivided support of all Republicans in the 
county and many of the Democrats were cunong its warmest 
friends. 

"The Express was the first paper printed in Montgomery 
County. It came early and has stayed late. It has seen a 
county of almost unbroken prairie transferred into one of the 
best producing sections of the world. It has been in Red 
Oak ready to welcome nearly all the good people who live there 
at this time. The few there now who preceded it, can almost 
be counted on the fingers of your two hands. It saw the first 
railroad train as it came over the hill from the east; it was 
young at that time, but it was vigorous. It was there when 
Red Oak was organized as a city and published the first laws 
of the municipality. It has published more notices of big ears 
of corn and big, long, round, sweet water melons, and told 
the truth, than any other paper of the same age. 

"Well do I remember the day when, in the summer of 1867, 
I stepped from the conveyance (a buckboard) that carried all 
the passengers and mail that was transported between Glen- 



MISCELLANIES 267 

wood and Chariton. Red Oak was very small then — five 
houses there, such as they were. The first man I saw was J. B. 
Packard. I think the stage driver pointed him out to me. I 
introduced myself to him and he introduced me to W. W. 
Merritt. From them I learned that the delinquent tax list of 
the county had just been sent to the Glenwood Opinion for 
publication, that being the principal source of revenue in such 
counties. 

"It was out of the question to think of starting a paper in 
a town of 200 people in a county of not more than 200 or 300 
families, so in the morning I again mounted the buckboard of 
the Western Stage Co., and, after being closely scrutinized by 
a rough looking individual in buckskin clothes, we were allowed 
to depart, winding our way over the hill to the east. 

"We stopped to water our horse at Frankfort and again at 
Sciola and arrived in Quincy before night. This being a county 
seat, I again made an investigation and found that the delinquent 
tax list was still on tap, and in a few weeks the Adams County 
Gazette was issued, tax list and all, but I still kept watch of Red 
Oak Junction. P. H. Goode, Esq., was at that time editing 
a column of Red Oak items in the Glenwood Opinion, but long 
before the next tax list was due, I had occupied the field. 

"As I write this article, I can see in my mind's eye the 
first subscription list as it was written down in the old book 
that I have handled over so many, many times. I can recall 
many of the names now. The list was not long at first, but 
it was made up of the names of good men and women. The 
very salt of the earth lived in Red Oak when the Express 
was started, but I am fearful that as I have been absent from 
the city for a quarter of a century, I would be acquainted with 
more names in the cemetery than on the streets. I am positive 
that our subscription list had over 1 50 names, good cash sub- 
scribers, before the end of the first month, and before the end 
of three months, it had been increased to 250, and we thought 



268 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

we had a good list, too, because it included a majority of the 
families of the county. 

"W. W. Merritt was Clerk of the District Court at the time 
and did much to assist in establishing The Express, and, though 
he wandered from the fold, dating his estrangement from 
the Greeley Campaign, we must insist that he is all right, never- 
theless. Wayne Stennett, Treasurer, was the only Democratic 
officer in the the county, but he was not a bad Democrat by 
any manner of means. C. H. Lane was the solid man of 
the town and county and while he did not say much, what 
he did say went with all, I remember. Thomas Weidman was 
one of the early subscribers and a staunch friend of the Express. 
He was a member of the Board of Supervisors at the time. The 
paper was well established when Smith McPherson, a young 
briefless lawyer, fresh from the Iowa University, arrived in town^ 
and was among the first to welcome him. Hon. Alfred Hebard, 
although with Gen. Remick was one of the founders of the 
town, did not take up his residence there until some time after 
The Express was established. 

"I presume I might go on in this way and write pages, but 
almost any old settler could do the same. And while I may not 
be entitled to much credit, I am proud to have it to say that 1 
am the man who founded the Red Oak Express." 

THE OLD SETTLERS' ORGANIZATION. 

The Old Settlers' Association of Montgomery, Taylor, Page 
and Adams Counties, Iowa, may be styled the most important 
social organization in these counties. It was organized in Page 
County in 1883, its object being to preserve the historical in- 
cidents that occurred during the early settlement of the county 
and to keep a record of the development and progress of the 
schools, churches and social organizations as well as the biog- 
raphies of the pioneer settlers. A reunion of the members was 
held each year at Hawleyville until 1890, when the head- 
quarters of the association were moved to Villisca, where they 



MISCELLANIES 269 

have continued to remain and where the reunions have since 
been held. 

William Jackson was elected President when first organ- 
ized and J. S. Boise Jr. was its first Secretary on coming to 
Villisca, but no records of the Association were kept until 1895. 
At the annual election of officers in that year, A. P. West was 
elected President and J. S. Boise, Secretary. Since that time, 
full records have been kept, and at that time articles of incor- 
poration, a constitution and by-laws were draw up and adopted. 
The members of the Association now number several hundred. 
Many of the prominent men of the state are among them, and 
the annual reunions have become a prominent feature, many 
thousands attending regularly, when governors, congressmen and 
judges mingle in social converse with the old pioneers and the 
early days are again lived over amid many interesting scenes. 

The Association was voted a membership in the State His- 
torical Society, and has since received all the publications of 
that institute. It takes a deep interest in all important events 
that occur within its territory and earnestly requests the co-oper- 
ation of all the people in the furtherance of the objects for which 
it was organized. It really is a Montgomery County institution, 
for while it was organized in Page County, it has been for 
twelve years wholly maintained by Montgomery County 
citizens, all its business being done and all its reunions held in 
Montgomery County. It is a charitable institution, all its funds 
being donated by its members. During the almost twenty- 
five years of its existence, it has come to be regarded, particularly 
by the pioneer members, with much solicitude and affection, the 
annual reunions being looked forward to with pleasant antic- 
ipations, when the old fashioned, homelike joys of boyhood days 
again return, when old friendships are renewed and life's path- 
way made brighter. 

The present officers of the Association are: A. P. West, 
President; J. M. Patton, Vice President; J. S. Boise, Secre- 



270 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

tary; F. F. Jones, Treasurer. Trustees: J. M. Patton, M. 
Cowgill, F. M. Divine, Montgomery County; Adam Starr, 
Adams County; G, L. Dunn, Page County; J. T. Andrews, 
Taylor County. 

PRESIDENT McKINLEY'S VISIT TO RED OAK. 

President William McKinley, Jr., and several members of 
his cabinet were greeted in Red Oak by three thousand en- 
thusiastic citizens on Oct. 13, 1898. The special train con- 
veying the President and his party arrived about noon. The 
crowd whch spread over the car tracks and in the railroad yards, 
occupying points of vantage on the platform of the freight depot, 
was all expectancy and good nature. When the train came 
to a standstill. Secretary of Agriculture James Wilson, the 
Iowa member of the Cabinet, stepped out on the rear platform 
and, introducing Mr. McKinley, said, "This is the President." 
Everyone recognized him and he was heartily cheered. The 
President acknowledged the greeting and commenced speak- 
ing, so clearly and distinctly that nearly all of the large audience 
could hear and understand. His reference to the late Darwin 
R. Merritt localized his speech as nothing else could have 
done. He said : 

"It gives me great pleasure to look into your faces as I journey 
through your state. What nation of the world has more to be 
thankful for than ours? We have material wealth; we have 
rich and fertile lands; we have great shops and great factories 
that make everything ; we have skilled workmen ; we have genius 
for invention, and, in the last thirty years, we have achieved 
commercial triumphs that have been the wonder of the world. 
We have much to be thankful for that we have come out of 
the events of the last five months, glorious in our victories and 
more glorious in the results v/hich are to follow them. You 
rejoice, I know, in the pride of our people and in the valor of 
our soldiers. We have been through a crisis in our history. 



MISCELLANIES 271 

We were never more patriotic than from April 1898 down to 
the present hour, but our patriotism must be continued. We 
must not permit it to abate, but must stand together until every 
settlement of the recent contest shall be written in enduring form 
and shall record a triumph for civilization and humanity. I am 
glad to be at the home of that gallant young hero who went 
down in the harbor of Havana. I am glad to pay tribute to 
him who gave up his life for his country in the performance of 
his duty. His memory will be sacredly guarded by his neigh- 
bors and fellow citizens and will always be held in remembrance 
by a grateful people. Now, fellow citizens, it gives me great 
pleasure to introduce the Secretary of our Treasury, Lyman P. 
Gage, whom, I am sure, you will be glad to hear for a few 
moments." 

Mr. Gage said that the proudest title anyone could have was 
that of an American citizen and only second in importance was 
to be a citizen of this mighty growing west. He then spoke of 
the President whom his hearers had come to meet, of his respon- 
sibilities during the most trying time since the Civil War, and 
the confidence whch the people have had and continue to have 
in him. Mr. Gage in turn introduced Charles Emory Smith, 
Postmaster General, who spoke eloquently along a similar line 
and, while he was speaking, the train moved slowly on. Pres- 
ident McKinley again stepped upon the platform and bowed a 
smiling farewell, followed by hearty cheers. The President's 
train stopped at Villisca and at other towns along the C, B. & 
Q. Railroad, where addresses were made. 

SOME LONG LIVED PEOPLE OF THE COUNTY. 

The first settlement of Montgomery County was composed 
almost entirely of young people and now nearly all of them 
who are with us are on the down-hill side of life. The soldier 
who entered the Union army at the age of thirty years is now 
seventy-six years old. Many young men enlisted who were 



272 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

between the ages of eighteen and thirty years. Soldiers and 
civilians of that period are beginning to be bowed down by 
the weight of years. Mention is here made of a group of 
aged people now living and of those who have recently died. 

Of the living, Mr. Joseph Junkin, the father of J. M. Junkin, 
was born in Pennsylvania in 1815 and is now in his ninety- 
second year. He cast his first vote for President in 1 836. 

Mrs. Pamela Worsley, mother of O. P. Worsley, was born 
in Massachusetts Oct. 21,1 809, and will be ninety-seven years 
old on the 2 1 st of October, 1 906. She has been a resident of 
Red Oak thirty-eight years. Her father was not old enough 
to enter the army of the Revolution, but his older brother was 
with Washington at Valley Forge. 

Mrs. Anna Hebard, the widow of the late Col. Alfred 
Hebard, is in the ninety-second year of her age — a remarkably 
well preserved woman. 

Mrs. Lucy M. Johnson was born in 1818 and is now in her 
eighty-ninth year. She is blind and partially deaf, but has full 
possession of her mental faculties and, though not the oldest of 
the group, has been a resident of the county since 1854, emi- 
grating at that time from Ohio. 

Of those who have died recently, may be named: 

Mrs. Sarah Whitcombe, who was born in Massochusetts, 
October, 1814, and who died in the eighty-eighth year of her 
age. Her mother was Ruth Pierce, an aunt of Ex-President 
Franklin Pierce. She died peacefully in the home of her 
daughter, Mrs. Helen Merritt. 

Samuel B. Dunn of Jackson Township was born in 1822 
and died March 6, 1905. He was one of the first white men 
in Montgomery County, coming here in 1851 in the employ 
of the government with his brother William as a surveyor. He 
survived all the others who came at that early period. 

S. V. Kelley, father of Mrs. Holmes Taylor of Red Oak, 
died at her home, at the age of ninety-six. 





MRS. HARRIETT MURPHY— Mother of Super- 
visor E. M. Murphy. Died in 1906, aged 98 
years. 



MRS. THOS. WHEELER— Born in Connecticut, 
July 24, 1800, and died at her home in Wash- 
ington township, aged 100 years, 7 months and 
19 days. 





SALLY BOND, Deceased— Came to county in 1856. 
Wife of Dr. A. Bond, the first Clerk of District 
Court. 



SARAH FLETCHER WHITCOMB, deceased in 
the S8th year of her age. Cousin of Ex-Presi- 
dent Franklin Pierce. Mother of Mrs. W. 
W. Merritt. 




JOHN L. THOMAS— One of ihe founders of ttie 
Welsh colony in county, ex-member of 
board of supervisors and deputy sheriff. 



HENRY PETERSON — A leader of the Swedish 
citizens in county. Came lo county in lh7J. 
Born in Sweden, 1S44. 



^■■PIH^Hi 




^^^^^^^^L '"^kiftf ^f^^l 


Rh :^^ 


B>!!^B&l£''^ll^Biil 




JOSEPH JUNKIN — Born in Pennsylvania in 1S15. 
Now of Red Oak. 



JOEL SILKETT AND WIFE— Mr. Silkett has 
been a resident of county since 1856. 



MISCELLANIES 273 

Mrs. Harriet Murphy was born near New London, Conn., 
Feb. 6, 1809, and died in Red Oak, aged ninety-seven years 
and seven months. She lived in New York State until 1887, 
when she came to live with her son, E. M. Murphy. She was 
one of a family of fourteen children. Her mother lived to the 
age of nineiy-three years. For one so advanced in years, she 
had a remarkable mind. Her death came as peacefully as 
sleep to a tired child. 

Several years ago, an event of more than ordinary interest 
occurred at the home of Merritt Wheeler of Washington Town- 
ship. It was the celebration of the one hundredth birthday 
of his mother, Mrs. Thomas Wheeler, who was bom in Water- 
town, Conn., July 24th, 1800. She had the unique distinction 
of having lived in the 18th, 19th and 20th Centuries, and of 
having lived under every national administration except that of 
Washington. She was born seven months after the death of 
the first President of the United States and was twelve years 
old at the time of the Battle of New Orleans. She was seven 
years old when Robert Fulton propelled the first steamer up the 
Hudson and nine years old when Abraham Lincoln was born. 
Her father was a soldier of the Revolutionary War from 1 776 
to 1 783 ; two of her brothers were soldiers in the War of 1812. 
Of her ten children, two of her sons were Union soldiers in 
the War of the Rebellion. One son was a member of Co. 
D., Twenty-ninth Wisconsin Regiment and was killed at the 
Siege of Vicksburg in 1863. The other is now living in the 
State of Washington. Mrs. Wheeler was married in 1820 
and moved to Trumbull County, Ohio. In 1843 they re- 
moved to Wisconsin and in 1870 to this county. Her hus- 
band died in this county in 1 878, aged eighty-two years. Her 
hearing was slightly defective and she had lost the sight of one 
eye. Although slightly built, weighing only seventy pounds, 
her power of endurance was remarkable. She was an expert 
at the loom and, besides caring for the household, she in ten 



274 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

months' time wove 980 yards of cloth. It is said that at the 
age of ninety she was at the loom early and late. She was 
vivacious and an interesting conversationalist. Upon the at- 
tainment of her one hundredth birthday, eight hundred people 
of the surrounding country assembled and spent the day in 
social enjoyment, with a program of speeches and music. Mrs. 
Wheeler entered heartily into the spirit of the occasion. 

GENERAL GRANT'S VISIT TO RED OAK. 

General Grant, in company with Gov. Gear of Iowa, arrived 
in Red Oak on Nov. 5, 1879. An informal greeting was 
given him at the station, some four or five thousand people being 
present. A formal welcome was extended to him on behalf 
of Red Oak by Col. Hebard, who made a very short address, 
as follows : 

"General Grant, a common motive and a strong one has 
called together this crowd today in order to extend a welcome 
and greeting. I will not reflect upon the intelligence of this 
community by a formal introduction of a man whose name is 
already familiar in every hamlet in the nation. 

"I do not wish to impose on the General or this people by 
any lengthy words. They would be out of place and distaste- 
ful to him and to you, but I should fail in duty if I did not ex- 
press to you the known high regard to him whose name is 
identified with the most brilliant career in the history of this 
country. I will not offend good taste by prophetic utterance, 
but I desire to express the belief, shared by thousands, that his 
fame is not finished and his usefulness not yet ended. And 
now, good people, three cheers for General Grant." 

When the applause and confusion had subsided, General 
Grant bowed his acknowledgements, and his reply is as follows : 

"I am very glad to see you all and would be pleased to take 
you all by the hand, but to make a speech is something you 
cannot expect of me. I am always glad to see the people of 
Iowa and to take them by the hand." 



MISCELLANIES 275 

Mrs. Grant, who accompanied the party, was loudly called 
for and finally made her appearance, gracefully waving her 
handkerchief to the crowd as the train moved off. The party 
also made a short stop at Villisca, where the General shook 
hands with as many as he possibly could in the limited time. 

DEER IN THE EARLY DAYS. 

One Dick Chamberlain, living in what is now Grant Towti- 
ship, killed seventy-eight deer in the winter of 1856 and 1857. 
The snow covered the ground to the depth of three feet and a 
crust was formed sufficiently strong to hold up a dog but not 
strong enough to hold up a deer, their sharp hoofs breaking 
through it. Large numbers of them were easily captured and 
slain in their vain efforts to escape. 

Wm. Cozad, when a lad of thirteen years, imprudently at' 
tacked and killed a buck with spike horns. Watching his op- 
portunity, he struck it with a club across its neck while a dog: 
had hold of its nose. The same winter a herd of elk was 
exterminated, none having been seen since in the county. At 
a former period there must have been numerous herds roaming; 
at will over the prairies of Iowa, as the antlers of deer and elk 
were often found by the pioneers. Mr. Cozad, now one of 
our county commissioners, caime in 1854, when a boy, from 
Ohio with the late Stephen Davis of Mills County. He was 
eager to go to Iowa with Mr. Davis, his uncle, and was told 
that he could do so if he would walk all of the way. This he 
did, taking forty-seven days for the trip. 

WORTHY OF NOTE. 
In all the history of Montgomery County, there has never 
been a defalcation on the part of a county officer and never 
even a scandal of any kind. In one case there was a shortage 
caused by a mistake which was promptly made good, so so far 
as is known, there never was a loss to the people of the county 
through one of its officials. The County Board, which really^ 



276 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

constitutes the legislative power of the county, for the last thirty- 
three years, with only three exceptions, has been made up of 
farmers. It is a credit to the good business sense and honesty 
of Montgomery County farmers that their representatives on 
the Board have such a clean, honorable and economical record. 

RULING PRICES FORTY-NINE YEARS AGO. 

A public sale of a small stock of goods at Frankfort, Dec. 1 5, 
1857, gives prices at that period as gleaned from an old account 
book. The auctioneer was Joe Zuber. 

I. Bolt bought a pair of stitched boots for $1.25. Isaac 
Hunt gave 15 cents for a snuff box and 35 cents for a Bible; 
D. Terry, 30 cents for fiddle strings. A. Milner gave lYl 
cents per lb. for nails and R. W. Rogers 9|/2 cents per lb. for 
No. 6 nails ; Mrs. West, 1 cents for three tucking combs. 

There was no newspaper in the county in which to make 
known the fact of a sale and to record results. 



CHAPTER XXX 



HISTORY OF RED OAK. 

Red Oak is not an old town, even as age is reckoned in this 
young, western country of ours. Fifty years ago there was 
scarcely a habitation worthy of the name in the present city 
limits, and, even after it was located and given a name, its 
progress for many years was extremely slow. It was not until 
1 869 that it was organized as a town, and it did not become a 
city of the second class until 1 876. 

The original settlers of Montgomery County — or rather, the 
original town site locaters — did not plan for Red Oak cind, so 
far as they were concerned. Red Oak was an afterthought. At 
an early day, a small company known as the Town Lot Com- 
pany, composed of Messrs. Henn, Williams & Lowe, soon after 
the land in this part of the state was surveyed and laid off into 
counties, began establishing towns at points which they thought 
ought to make county seats. In this way they located the town 
of Quincy in Adams County and Frankfort in Montgomery 
County. As this same company was largely instrumental in 
laying out Omaha, Sioux City, Fort Dodge and other towns, 
it did not seem unreasonable to expect that their selections would 
be wise ones. But before long, another influence appeared, 
more potent than individual effort — an influence that made 
towns, moved towns and sometimes destroyed tovms. The 



278 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company, as they 
were approaching Iowa at the city of Burlington, sent forward 
in 1 853 surveying parties to ascertain the topographical features 
of the country, with a view of extending their line westward 
to the Missouri River. That line, as finally selected, crossed 
the Nishnabotna River at the present site of Red Oak, and, 
consequently, Frankfort was left out in the cold, its location on 
an elevated piece of land with deep adjacent valleys, being the 
decisive point against it. 

The town was indebted for its name lO the little creek which 
passes through it and which was called Red Oak Creek — so 
called by the early settlers on account of the numerous oaks 
growing on its banks, which, in the late autmn, blazed with 
bright foliage. 

According to an early historian, the land on which Red Oak 
was afterwards built was first located by W. C. Matthews, 
afterwards for many years a resident of Page County. In 
1 85 1 , Mr. Matthews was a member of a hunting party which 
came over from Silver Creek in Mills County and made their 
headquarters for about ten days in Red Oak Township at a 
point that has been popular ever since as a camping place and 
has been known for years as the North Mill, located several 
miles north of Red Oak. During the encampment they killed 
seventeen deer, five wild hogs, a number of coons, two wild- 
cats, one catamount and a good supply of wild turkeys. Dur- 
ing the hunt they found the carcasses of two large bucks with 
their enormous antlers inseparably interlocked, the supposition 
being that the bucks had been fighting and got their horns locked 
so that they could not get them apart and either died or were 
attacked by wolves while in that condition. These antlers 
afterwards found their way into a museum at Des Moines and 
are there preserved as historic relics of the early days of Iowa. 
This hunting party is said to have included Amos Cox, Wm. 
Redfield, Isaac Hough, W. C. Matthews, Sylvester Whitney, 



HISTORY OF RED OAK 279 

Edwin Whitney, Dexter Stillman and an Englishman whose 
name the historian fails to record. It was during this expedition 
that Mr. Matthews staked out and made claim to the land where 
Red Oak now stands. However, as he never perfected his 
claim, he lost the opportunity of becoming known to fame as 
the founder of Red Oak. 

According to the same historian, a man by the name of 
Pleasant Jones squatted on a portion of the land now included 
within the limits of the City of Red Oak, before the govern- 
ment survey was completed, and held his claim. The first 
entry, however, was made by James Shank March 11, 1 854, 
he having selected the north half of the southwest quarter of 
Section 28, Red Oak Township. A year later, Mr. Jones 
entered the south half of the northwest quarter of the same 
section, the two entries comprising the original plat of Red 
Oak Junction. The official plat of the original town site of 
Red Oak Junction was certified by Gen. David Remick and 
wife, July 22, 1857, before W. S. Groff, a Notary Public; 
and, on the 28th of July 1857, by James Shank, Wm. A. 
Shank, Mary A. Shank and Henry C. Shank, the latter being 
certified to before Z. M. P. Shank, Justice of the Peace. These 
two plats constituted the limits of the town site until 1869, 
when Shank's Addition was recorded. From then until the 
present time a considerable number of additions have been re- 
corded. 

The first postoffice to serve the citizens of Red Oak was 
located two miles north of the present city at what is now called 
the North Mill and was then named Oro. This postoffice was 
established in 1855 and J. J. Zuber was the postmaster. There 
was only one east and west road through the county and it 
followed no definite track but wound over the prairie wherever 
a route could be found that would admit of being traveled to 
the best advantage. This road crossed the Nishnabotna at 
what was then Silkett's Mill. The postoffice was served by 



280 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

Samuel Riggs, a mail contractor, who rode through the county 
on horseback once a week. A few months later the mail was 
changed from horseback to a hack so as to carry light parcels 
and passengers. Early in 1857 a ferry was established at the 
saw-mill and in July of the same year, a grist mill was added to 
the business. During the winter of 1857-8, a bridge was built 
across the river, being the first one in the coimty. The next 
July, the bridge was washed out and a few months later. Gen. 
Remick of Burlington, who had some landed interests in this 
region, bought the old ferry-boat and sent out a rope for it, 
whereupon the settlers moved the craft down to Red Oak, 
stretched their big rope across the river from tree to tree and 
established the crossing at this point. After this the main 
travel passed through Red Oak. On July 1 , 1 858, the West- 
ern Stage Co., started a daily hack line between Chariton and 
Plattsmouth by way of Red Oak and carried the mail. But 
the hack did not pay and they subsequently obtained the priv- 
ilege of serving this mail route by buckboard conveyance at such 
times as there was not other business enough to use the two- 
horse hack profitably. This company's option system contin- 
ued for about three years, with the option generally in favor of 
the buckboard. 

The postoffice was moved from Oro to Red Oak in March 
1858 and the name was changed to Red Oak Junction. The 
word "Junction" was added, not because there was a junction 
here, but because, as Col. Hebard afterwards said, "Stupidity 
itself at that early day could not fail to see that a cross line 
would some time be built to accommodate the wealth that lay 
buried in the soil of this wonderful valley," and Red Oak was 
on the main line of the Burlington survey. After the post- 
office was moved to Red Oak, Mr. Zuber continued to be the 
postmaster, and is said to have built the first house on the new 
town site. 



HISTORY OF RED OAK 28 1 

Up to 1858 the most important building on the site of the 
present city of Red Oak was a small frame building used as a 
hotel. There were two or three other shacks, but they were 
little more than huts. Mr. L. N. Harding, who came here 
first in the year 1855, moved here in 1857 and pre-empted a 
cabin that someone had built near a spring in the east part of 
town and becoming discouraged, moved back to Missouri. 
Adding a room 8x16 feet, he lived there during 1857 and until 
he finished his own dwelling in 1858. Even in these small 
quarters he frequently accommodated travelers, in one instance 
sheltering a party of surveyors who had just room enough by 
lying side by side on the floor of the addition. 

The year 1858 saw a building boom in Red Oak. Mr. 
Harding erected a commodious dwelling and Mr. Chas. H. 
Lane, Red Oak's first merchant, erected a store building on 
the site of the present First National Bank building at the south- 
west corner of the square. Each did most of the work him- 
self and when either required help he called on the other and 
thus the first business house and the first real dwelling house 
were erected. The lumber used was principally oak and wal- 
nut and it was sawed at a small saw mill owned by H. C. 
Shank and located on Red Oak Creek within the present limits 
of the city. There was also a steam saw mill located down by 
the river and owned by the Town Site Company where the 
heaviest timbers were sawed. Part of the siding used in Mr. 
Harding's house was made from a tree which had been felled 
by Indians with tomahawks. In 1860, Mr. Harding's house 
was made the stage company's station and was so continued 
until the railroad was put through. When Mr. Lane opened 
for business he was made postmaster and continued to hold 
office until 1862 when he temporarily suspended business. 
Then Mr. Harding assumed the duties of postmaster and held 
the office for a number of years. He recalls that the receipts 
for his office for one quarter in 1862 amounted to from $8.00 



282 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

to $10.00. The old house, which was located only a block 
east of the public square, remained Mr. Harding's residence 
for nearly forty years and was in a good state of preservation 
when it was torn down. 

In the spring of 1860, a bridge was built across the Nish- 
nabotna River at Red Oak, but this bridge was washed out in 
the ice-flow during the spring of 1 864. To accommodate the 
greatly increased travel, J. P. Gepford started a ferry which 
served the increased business until the bridge was re-built the 
following fall. The necessary supplies for the settlers were 
secured principally from Council Bluffs, Iowa, and St. Joseph, 
Mo., the goods being hauled overland by freighting wagons 
drawn by horses or oxen. Later, when the Burlington & Mis- 
souri River Railroad was completed to Ottumwa, and the Des 
Moines Valley Railroad was completed from Keokuk to Eddy- 
ville, the freighting business for Montgomery County went 
largely in that direction. 

From 1855 to 1868, Red Oak made very little progress. 
Justus Clark, one of the early citizens of the town, stated that 
in 1 868 he stood on the top of the hill in the east part of town 
from which place he could see every house in town. He 
counted them and they numbered fifty, including buildings of 
all kinds. The breaking out of the war and the consequent 
cessation of railroad building, brought everything to a standstill 
that was dependent on the railroads for its prosperity. The 
pioneer merchant, C. H. Lane, gave up in 1862, and went 
back east. However, he returned the next spring and resumed 
business, but during his absence, there wasn't a merchant in the 
county. It is also said that for some time there was neither 
a doctor nor a lawyer in the county. It is not recorded that 
the absence of the representatives of the latter two professions 
incommoded the settlers to any great extent. As for groceries 
and the other few necessities required by the citizens, they were 
secured at Council Bluffs, Glenwood or Sidney. 



HISTORY OF RED OAK 283 

The first deaths recorded in Red Oak were those of Mrs. 
Amanda Shank and five grand-children, all of whom died in 
1854 and were buried in the family burying ground southeast 
of Red Oak. The first girl born in Red Oak is said to have 
been Myrtle, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Zuber. 

With the approach of the railroad in 1869, Red Oak took 
on new activities. The first freight train arrived in the town 
Nov. 24, 1869. The increased population made it necessary 
for the inhabitants to organize a town. Heretofore the only 
government was the regular township government. In July of 
1869, Red Oak Junction was incorporated as a town, with 
R. S. Hanley, Mayor; R. H. Haller, Treasurer; J. W. Small, 
Recorder; J. L. Ashby, Marshal; John Shafer, Deputy Mar- 
shal; W. F. Carlton, Assessor; W. P. Wiley, J. D. Bryan, 
J. L. Harding, J. R. Stratton and W. H. Kerrihard, Trustees. 
Mr. Harding resigned before the expiration of his term of office 
and E. L. Grubb was elected to fill the vacancy. 

It appears that a City Attorney was needed more in those 
days than at present, for we find that in 1870, when S. S. 
Purcell was elected Mayor, R. S. Hanley, the late Mayor, was 
elected Attorney. Mr. Purcell filled the office for two years, 
and we find that among the trustees for the year 1871 was 
A. C. Hinchman, then, as now, a druggist in the city of Red 
Oak. In March 1 872, Z. T. Fisher was elected Mayor and 
F. M. Byrkit — later one of the pioneer bankers, and for many 
years a leading citizen of Red Oak — was elected Recorder. 
The trustees of that year included the names of men who were 
prominent in years to come in the affairs of Red Oak. They 
were, A. Hebard, B. B. Clark, A. McConnell, S. A. Henry 
and Lyman Banks. C. M. Mills served as Mayor for the years 
1873 and 1874. At the same time, A. C. Hinchman was 
elected Treasurer, an office which he held for six years. Smith 
McPherson, at the present time a judge of the Federal Court, 
was elected City Attorney in 1873. By the year 1875, Red 



284 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

Oak had grown until it took on metropolitan airs, and decided 
that it was large enough to become a city. In the spring of that 
year, W. W. Merritt was elected Mayor, and during his term, 
final action necessary to incorporate as a city of the second class 
was taken. The Mayor was assigned the duty of numbering 
the wards, and he left the impress of his personality on the num- 
bering by putting himself in the First Ward. Red Oak became 
a city on the 20th day of March 1 876, and, while almost univer- 
sally designated as "Red Oak," the name "Red Oak Junction'* 
continued to be its official name until June 13, 1901, when the 
then Mayor, Thos. Griffith, pursuant to an election previously 
held, proclaimed the name of the city changed to "Red Oak.'* 

The first officials of the new city were: Orrin Miller, 
Mayor; A. C. Hinchman, Treasurer; T. H. Lee, Clerk; O. G» 
Howard, Attorney; H. A. Thompson, Marshal; S. T. Gauf. 
Deputy Marshal; H. A. Thompson, Street Commissioner; G. 
M. West, Chief Fire Department; B. J. Austin, Assessor. 
The Councilmen were: First Ward, A. C. Clapp, T. S. 
Parker; Second Ward, W. C. Lockhart, O. W. Hutchinson; 
Third Ward, L. N. Harding, T. E. Brown. T S. Parker 
resigned before his term expired and H. Andrus was elected to 
fill the vacancy. 

The following persons have served as Mayor from 1878 
until 1906: J. R. Stratton, 1878-1881 ; E. A. Harris, 1881- 
1885; J. L. Ashby, 1885-1886; J. A. Hysham, 1886-1889; 
A. W. Harding, 1889-1891; Thos. Griffith, 1891-1893; 
Dan B. Gunn, 1893-1898; J. Sanborn, Jr.. 1898-1901 ; Thos. 
Griffith, 1901-1903; W. S. Reiley, 1903 to the present time. 

A. W. Harding was Treasurer from 1 884 to 1 889 ; R. M. 
Roberts succeeded him and held the office tour years, since 
which time C. A. Hough has been Treasurer. The following 
persons have held the office of City Attorney : N. C. Cannon, 
J. M. Junkin, R. W. Beeson, J. C. Cooper, F. E. Pomeroy 
and Smith McPherson. The latter was City Solicitor in 1 893- 



HISTORY OF RED OAK 285 

and 1894. Since that time, no local attorney could be found 
to accept the office and it has been vacant. The following 
persons have held the office of City Clerk: T. H. Lee, B. J. 
Austin, F. E. Loomis, W. H. Evans, O. P Worsley, H. C. 
French, G. Blackstone, R. O. Newell, O. E. Jackson, H. F. 
Brown, M. E. Moulton and C. M. Kelly. 

In the early days of the city and town, the office of City 
Marshal was of more importance than it has been in later years. 
Part of the time, the offices of City Marshal and Street Com- 
missioner were combined. The following persons have held 
the office of Marshal: J. L. Ashby, John Shafer, W. F. 
Davis, H. A. Thompson, T. H. Dearborn, P. S. Douglas, 
C. L. Burnett, J. S. Cook, George R. Logan, A. W. Watson, 
A. H. Lawshe, Norman Rogers, H. F. Locke, D. D. Jeffers. 
J. S. Cook has held the office longer than any other one man, 
though his service has not been consecutive. For several years 
past, the office has been held jointly by Cook and Logan. For 
a number of years the office was vacant, the services being 
rendered by an officer called a Deputy Marshal. J. S. Cook 
also served some time as Street Commissioner. The persons 
who served in this capacity were El wood Cleaver, W. H. 
Kerrihard, I. W. Graves, P. S. Douglas, A. W. Harding, J. 
A. Shuey, John Shafer, George R. Logan, A W. Watson, 
C A. Dentler, A. Foster, J. C. Hendricks, George Hayes, S. 
S. Davis, O. E. Jackson, J. E. Ellwood, Jas. Seaman and 
J. B. Graves. 

SOME IMPORTANT FIRES. 

Red Oak has had her share of disastrous fires. The orig- 
inal lown was built principally of wood, and in the early days, 
the only means of fighting a fire was the bucket brigade. If a 
blaze got a good start, it was reasonably sure to result in the 
total destruction of whatever caught fire. The first disastrous 
fire occurred Dec. 23, 1875, when practically the entire east 



286 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

side of the square was burned, the only business house left 
standing being that of Dr. M. A. Wheelock's drug store at the 
northeast comer of the square where the Miller Block now 
stands. The fire is thought to have been of incendiary origin 
for the reason that it started in a vacant building which had been 
used that season by D. J. Ockerson as an agricultural ware- 
room. The fire was discovered at 1 :30 in the morning and 
it quickly spread to the adjoining buildings on the north and 
south. The building adjoining on the south was occupied by 
D. P. Lewis as a hardware store and by Mrs. Lewis with a 
millinery store. The corner building, next to Coolbaugh Street, 
was owned by J. F. Fisher and was occupied by Fisher & Son 
with a stock of groceries and meats, the son being M. E. Fisher, 
who had just started in business with his father. Across the 
alley, the first building was occupied by Whittier & Dearborn 
with a saddlery and harness store. This was on the site of 
the present Whittier building, occupied by D. Artz' drug store. 
Then came McLean's notion store, a restaurant that was con- 
ducted by J. Payne, popularly known as "Sir Isaac" Payne, 
and the last building to be destroyed was that of Thos. Go- 
hagan, a harness shop. This building was torn down to pre- 
vent the spread of the fire, saving Dr. Wheelock's drug store, 
though it was somewhat scorched. 

Immediately after the fire, J. F. Fisher began the erection 
of a substantial brick building on the corner, and it was com- 
pleted early the next spring and occupied as a grocery store 
and a retail meat store — not a butcher shop. Mr. Fisher at 
that time conducted a pork packing establishment, packing 
from two to three thousand hogs yearly. He disposed of a 
portion of his product from his store, and his son, M. E. Fisher, 
conducted the grocery department. Later on, he erected the 
building occupied by Bishop & Bridges at this time, and 
in partnership with J. B. Bishop opened a regular butcher shop, 
which was conducted by Mr. Bishop. Some time afterwards. 



HISTORY OF RED OAK 287 

John Bryson, Sr., built the brick building which is now part of 
the Rynearson building, and the postoffice found its home there 
for many years. Mr. Whittier also erected a brick building 
not long after the fire, and gradually the entire east side was 
built up with substantial brick buildings. 

It was after this great fire that steps were taken to organize 
a fire department, reference to which is made elsewhere. On 
Sept. 18, 1876, less than a year after this fire, occured the next 
important conflagration. It was also of incendiary origin and 
resulted in cleaning out a number of frame buildings — none of 
any great value — located on both sides of Coolbaugh St. be- 
tween Second and Third, one block west of the square. The 
fire started in the Tremont Hotel, which was unoccupied at the 
time. A small building used as a saloon, next door, a two-story 
frame building occupied by W. D. Kennedy, and a boot and 
shoe store, all located on the south side of the street, were de- 
stroyed, and the fire leaped across the street and burned the 
grocery store occupied by F. O. Judkins. The fire spread to 
the Newton Bros, building, a building owned by W. H. 
Painter, and Dan Reifel's building in which he conducted a 
tailor shop. Altogether there were thirteen buildings burned, 
all frame, but with the exception of the hotel, none were 
of any great value, the total loss being estimated at $20,000.- 
00. One of the results of the fire was the erection of a number 
of brick buildings on that block. 

The next important fire was the burning of the Houghton 
& Bishop opera house, which was located at the north-east 
corner of the square. The building was 45x 1 1 2 feet, three 
stories high. The lower floor was occupied as a furniture store 
owned by H. C. Houghton, and the upper parts as an opera 
house. One night in September, 1882, after a performance 
had been held during the evening, fire was discovered in the 
building and it was entirely destroyed before the blaze could 
be extinguished. The loss was placed at about $25,000.00. 



288 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

Mr. Houghton had sold out his interest in the building not 
long before the fire. Apparently no damage was done to the 
adjoining building and the fire wall between that building 
and the next one owned by R. H. Haller was left standing. 
Later on it fell in, covering the proprietor as well as customers 
with the debris. Luckily no one was seriously injured by 
the accident. Mr. Bishop is at present located at Ft. Worth, 
Texas. 

But all other fires pale into insignificance beside the great 
conflagration which visited Red Oak April 24th, 1902, when 
the entire south side of the square was destroyed, in addition to 
a splendid bank building on the block east. The actual cause 
of the fire will probably never be known. It was discovered at 
3:15 o'clock Thursday morning, April 24th. The alarm was 
turned in promptly and although there was very light pressure 
of water, it was thought the flames, which had broken out in 
the basement in the rear of the Houghton Bank block at the 
south-east corner of the square, were under control. Suddenly, 
however, they burst out with greater violence and leaping 
across the street, ignited a livery barn. While most of the 
buildings on the south side of the square were substantial brick 
blocks, the fire spread to the rear of the buildings destroying 
all the frame structures, and in an incredibly short time the entire 
block was ablaze. The whole town turned out to assist in 
saving the stocks of merchandise, but only a small portion was 
saved. By 8:00 o'clock the fire had spent itself, being con- 
fined to the south side of the square, and was prevented from 
eating its way east through the splendid block of buildings on 
Coolbaugh between Fourth and Fifth streets. About 9:00 
o'clock it was discovered that a valve in one of the principal 
mains was partially closed which accounted for the lack of 
water pressure. Undoubtedly this was the cause of a large 
part of the loss, as the fire could have been extinguished almost 
at the start but for the poor pressure. 





*-« 



EARLY RED OAK. — (About 1865.) — Looking cast on Reed street. Dr. Holmes' and J. B. Packard's 
houses in the distance. 




EARLY RED OAK.— Looking east on Coolbaugh street. Col. Hebard on horseback. Harding Hotel 
in center — the Masonic Hall to the left. 



HISTORY OF RED OAK 269 

The loss was estimated at over $200,000.00. The fol- 
lowing were some of the principal losers: 

Buildings: Houghton Bank block; I. H. Nazarenus' store 
building; Griffith Brothers' livery barn; J. A. Hysham's brick 
block; J. A. Hysham's frame building; H. W. Otis' brick 
building; J. W. Rankin's brick building; Malony & Son's 
brick block; Mrs. H. C. Shank's brick building; Hastie Estate, 
brick building; S. Kahn's brick building; W. C. Lockart's 
frame barn; J. L. Mohler, frame building. 

Stocks of goods which were either burned or partially de- 
stroyed: Ellingen & Barth, department store; Carmichael & 
Waldron, grocery; A. M. Rapp, Shoes; Cozad & Hunter, 
Clothing; Sundell & Newman, shoes; Sayers & Shepard, fur- 
nishing goods; W. F. Coonley, restaurant; M. H. Bauer, tailor; 
G. M. Piatt, drugs; Sol. Loeb, clothing; W. W. Armstrong, 
agricultural implements; Shancks & Carson, groceries. In ad- 
dition there were barber-shops, restaurants, cigar stores, law- 
yers' offices, doctors' offices, dentists' offices, etc., which were 
damaged or destroyed, occasioning considerable loss. 

For the credit of Red Oak's business men be it said that with- 
in a year or two the entire burnt district was rebuilt with better 
buildings than those that were destroyed. 

FIRE DEPARTMENT. 

After the fire of December 23rd, 1 875, immediate steps were 
taken to organize a fire department. The first regular meeting 
was held January 7th, 1876, at which C. M. Mills presided, 
and B. B. Clark acted as secretary. As a result the Red Oak 
Fire Company was organized. Geo. M. West was elected 
foreman, T. H. Lee first assistant, B. E. A. Simons, second as- 
sistant, T. H. Alexander, secretary, and P. T. Noonan, treas- 
urer. The city council was asked to provide the necessary fire 
apparatus, and by March 24th it had arrived, consisting of a 
hook and ladder outfit and a velocipede engine. This neces- 



290 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

sitated forming two companies. The first firemen's festival 
was held March 2nd, 1877, at which they cleared $181.05. 
Later a chemical engine with an 80 gallon cylinder was added 
to the equipment beside other chemical extinguishers. The tire 
department has continued to improve until it has become recog- 
nized as one of the very strongest in Southwestern Iowa. 

About 1895, a hose house was erected, a two-story, substan- 
tial brick affair, at the corner of Fourth and Washington Ave. 
A small hose house was also erected in the east part of town, 
where a hose-cart is located for the use of the citizens in that vi- 
cinity. 

The following persons have held the office of Chief of the 
Fire Department: G. M. West, 1876-7; E. A. Harris, 1877- 
1885; J. B. Bishop, 1885-1886; T. H. Lee, 1886-1888; 
J. B. Bishop, 1888-1890; J. J. Andrus, 1890-1892; P. C. 

Shipley, 1892-1893; F. S. McBurney, 1893-1894; J. S. Cook, 
1894-1895; J. C. Curtis. 1895-1896; J. J. Andrus, 1896- 
1897; R. H. Malony, 1897-1898; J. L. Jennings, 1898-1899; 
A. J. Seefeldt, 1899-1900; E. L. Breese, 1900-1901 ; J. H. 
Raftery, 1901-1902; J. S. Cook, 1902-1903; Lee Blue. 1903- 
1 904 ; Inda Stevens, 1 904- 1 906 ; from 1 906 to the present time, 
George Millhollin. 

CITY WATER WORKS. 
With the increased growth of the city, a waterworks plant 
became a necessity. The subject was discussed by the lead- 
ing business men in 1 879 but took no definite shape until early 
in 1880, one of the leading spirits in the movement being Mr. 
R. Wadsworth. The city council let the contract to B. P. 
Perkins, the total cost for plant and laying of mains to be thirty 
thousand dollars. It is said the entire issue of bonds for the 
waterworks was taken by the citizens of Red Oak. The 
waterworks plant consisted of a pumping station near the river 
in the west part of town and the water was pumped by direct 
pressure. In 1895 a standpipe was erected in the east part of 



HISTORY OF RED OAK 291 

town, which forced the water through the pipes by gravity. 
The supply of water, while of excellent quality, has not always 
been abundant in quantity, and new wells had to be sunk. 
During the year 1906, the city council prospected for water 
in the south-eastern part of town near what has been known for 
years as the "Sand Springs." Here a strong flow was struck 
and a large well sunk. The pumping station was transferred 
to the new site, and the City of Red Oak is now being supplied 
with an abundance of pure spring water. Some years ago, the 
city made a contract with the Electric Company to supply pow- 
er to pump the water; hence the city is not required to keep an 
engineer at the waterworks plant as was formerly done. 

PUBLIC UTILITIES. 

Red Oak is said to enjoy a higher average of comfort than 
most towns of its size. Its sewer system is an excellent one. 
This dates from 1 890, when the court house was erected. Since 
then the system has been extended to nearly all parts of town. 

The Red Oak Gas Co. was organized in 1882, when C. 
D. Jones and George Joslyn of Independence, Iowa, came here 
and secured a franchise. The plant was conducted by these 
people until 1 904, when it was sold to local capitalists, who now 
conduct it. F. A. Kidder has been manager for the past thir- 
teen years. 

In 1891, G. E. Claflin, A. M. Miller and W. H. Blood 
came to Red Oak and secured a franchise for an electric light 
plant. They were young men who were in the electrical bus- 
iness and chose Red Oak as the most promising place they could 
find for such an enterprise. The plant was put in operation 
the same year. It has since been greatly improved and en- 
larged until it has a combined light, heat and power service. 
The controlling interest passed into the hands of the late C. F. 
Clarke, who took great pride in the plant, and in 1899 a hot 
water heating system was put in which furnishes heat to the 
business houses around the square and to some others in the 



292 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

immediate vicinity. The electric company also furnishes power 
for the principal manufactories, like the Replogle Mill and The 
Thos. D. Murphy Co. calendar factory, as well as power for 
the city waterworks. A day and night light circuit is one oi 
the attractive features in the business district. 

The first telephone company was organized about 1881, in 
the early days of the telephone, and Mr. R. Wadsworth was 
the prime mover. This company was a small affair and had only 
a few subscribers. The service was extended, however, con- 
nection being made with the surrounding towns. Two years 
later, the Iowa Telephone Company, generally known as the 
Bell System, secured a franchise and put in a plant. In 1 902, 
this company had something over three hundred instruments in 
use. In that year an independent concern the Montgomery 
County Telephone Company, secured a franchise and erected 
a plant. As a result of the competition of the two companies, 
rates were reduced to $1 .00 per month for residences and $2.00 
for business houses. Each company has at this time over six 
hundred subscribers. 

STREET RAILWAY. 

Along in the early eighties Red Oak had a number of public 
spirited citizens who had large ideas of the city's future de- 
velopment. Some time during 1 88 1 , a coterie of these citizens 
brought up the subject of a street railway, and on November 
30th of that year the Red Oak Street Railway was incorpor- 
ated, with the following as incorporators: P. P. Johnson, 
W. C. Lockhart, A. C. Hinchman, H. C. Houghton, John 
Hayes, Geo. M. West, H. H. Palmer, O. E. Whitaker, F. M. 
Byrkit, J. F. Fisher. C. F Clarke, R. Wadsworth, M. Wads- 
worth. 

These public spirited citizens scarcely expected their invest- 
ment to prove a bonanza, their idea being that a street railway 
would tend to build up the town. P. P. Johnson, who was 



HISTORY OF RED OAK 293 

one of the moving spirits in the affair, was made president of 
the company, and O. E. Whitaker, the first superintendent. 
The system was open for business April 1st, 1882, the com- 
pany having expended between $5,000 and $10,000 in track 
and equipment. Two cars were used, and they were pro- 
pelled by horse or mule power. The receipts for the first month 
amounted to $147.00. It does not appear that the company 
ever paid dividends, although they started in by running their 
cars on regular schedule, from Sixth and Prospect Streets to 
the passenger depot, every fifteen minutes. Finally, in Feb- 
ruary, 1886, Marcus Bonham acquired control, and after that 
he operated the line in his personal interest for the next fifteen 
years. For the greater part of this time he made no attempt 
to run on schedule, except that he regularly made the trains. 
Not only did he carry passengers on his street car, but baggage 
as well. The mule car system became more or less of a stand- 
ing joke among traveling men throughout the Western country. 
Mr. Bonham finally became interested in mining in Colorado, 
and about April, 1 90 1 , disposed of the railway to S. P. Wal- 
lace of Griswold. Wallace ran the line for a year or more 
until the city got ready to pave the square, when they tore up 
the tracks, and Red Oak's street railway system passed out of 
existence. This action on the part of the city was due to the 
fact that Mr. Wallace either did not have the funds to pay for 
the paving between the tracks, or showed no disposition to make 
the improvement. A number of damage and injunction suits 
against the city followed, winding up with a suit for heavy 
damages against the mayor and members of the council. None 
of the suits ever amounted to anything, and no damages were 
secured. 

PAVING. 
In the early days, one of the greatest drawbacks to Red Oak 
was its unpaved streets. Owing to the peculiar quality of 
Southwestern Iowa's soil, the streets became a sea of almost 



294 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

bottomless mud at times of prolonged wet weather, or in the 
spring after an "open" winter. The question of paving was 
agitated for many years, but it was not until 1 902, during the 
administration of Mayor Griffith, that any action was taken. 
The City Council finally decided to make a beginning and the 
first paving contract included paving the square and a block each 
way except tov/ard the west, where two blocks were paved. 
Vitrified brick were used on a concrete base. The following 
year, the paving was extended into the residence districts on 
East Hill and to the freight and passenger stations. About 
this time an ordinance was passed compelling the building of 
permanent walks, and as a consequence, in the last few years 
the old board sidewalks of the city have practically all been 
replaced with cement walks. As this is being written, con- 
tractors are at work on a new paving contract, principally in 
the residence district in the east part of town. 

BUSINESS AND SOCIETY. 

In the early days, Red Oak had a pretty hard name. It 
was on one of the principal routes to the west, and in the course 
of time became known all over the country. While Red Oak 
had the reputation of being, next to Deadwood, the toughest 
town in the west, it really did not deserve all the bad things 
that were said of it. At no time was Red Oak filled with 
saloons and gambling houses as were many other frontier towns 
and in the early eighties the saloons disappeared when the Iowa 
prohibition law went into effect. Following the disappear- 
ance of the saloons, an awakened sentiment resulted in making 
the town puritanical, as least compared with the freedom and 
license of early days. So far did this movement go that for sev- 
eral years following 1 894, not even a billiard hall could secure 
a license. We find that in 1880, there were seven saloons in 
Red Oak. Since the days of prohibition, there have been 
no saloons, and there are none at this time. Even when the 
town's reputation was the worst, the better class of citizens 



HISTORY OF RED OAK 295 

predominated, and for many years Red Oak has had a high class 
of citizenship. Red Oak is said to have more fine residences 
and comfortable homes than any other town of its size in the 
state. Its business houses are substantial in appearance and 
well kept ; its merchants are progressive and up to date. 

BANKS. 

V. D. Stoddard was the first banker and he began business 
about 1868. Later, he had a partner. Gen. David Remick. 
About 1870, a second bank was started. It was called the 
Bank of Red Oak, and H. N. Moore was one of the prime 
movers. In June 1873, steps were taken to organize the First 
National Bank of Red Oak. H. N. Moore was to be Pres- 
ident, H. H. Chamberlain, Cashier, and the directorship in- 
cluded A. Hebard, Wayne Stennett, P. P. Johnson, H. A. 
McFatrich, S. D. Rynearson, H. H. Chamberlain and H. N. 
Moore. The capital stock was to be $50,000. Shortly af- 
terwards, Mr. Chamberlain died and the project was aband- 
oned. It was taken up, however, by others shortly afterwards 
and on Sept. 24, 1873, the First National Bank was organized 
with C. H. Lane, President; F. M. Byrkit, Vice President; C. 
F. Clarke, Cashier; A. C. Hinchman, H. A. McFatrich, T. 
W. Crandall and P. W. Slagle, the latter of Fairfield, directors. 
The bank began business Dec. 1 st and has been under the same 
management ever since. The following January, the banking 
firm of H. N. Moore & Co., was organized to succeed the 
Bank of Red Oak, with H. N. Moore, Wayne Stennett and 
R. M. Roberts as owners, R. M. Roberts being cashier. The 
bank was succeeded by the Red Oak Savings Bank and, later, 
by H. C. Houghton's Private Bank, which is still being con- 
ducted. 

The Red Oak National Bank was organized August 30, 
1883, with Justus Clark, President; B. B. Clark, Vice Presi- 
dent; P. P. Clark, Cashier; and D. B. Miller. A. Hebard. H. 
C. Binns. Humphrey Roberts, Wm. H. Hunter on the board 



296 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

of directors. This bank has made rapid growth, and, under 
the same management, has become one of the leading country 
banks of the state, having deposits at this time of around a 
million dollars. The First National Bank is also one of the 
strong banks of this part of the state. 

The Farmers' National Bank was organized in 1901 and 
began business early in 1902. The officers were as follows: 
M. Chandler, President; George C. Boileau, Vice President; 
O. J. Gibson, .Cashier. Directors : G. E. Anderson, J. F. 
Brown, E. M. Murphy, Levi Barnett, W. P. Marshall, Sven 
Pehrson, Benj. Davis and Charles Baldwin. 

HOTELS. 
There is scarcely an enterprise which redounds so much to 
the credit of a town as a good hotel. The old Central House 
and the Tremont House were two well known hostelries of the 
olden time, but they hardly measured up to what first class 
hotels should be, although they served their purpose well for 
the time being. The Tremont House was burned in 1 876 at 
which time it was unoccupied. The Judkins Bros., in 1880 
erected what was then a pretentious hotel building, 36 feet 
wide by 80 feet deep, and three stories high, at a cost of $ 1 6,- 
000. This hotel was located on Coolbaugh Street, opposite 
the present site of the court house. The Judkins House, as 
it was conducted by the proprietors, became more or less notor- 
ious to the traveling public. After several years it was acquired 
by P. P. Johnson, a public spirited citizen, and became known 
as the Johnson House. It was successfully managed by a 
number of people, and its reputation was much improved. 
About 1 900, Samuel Payne leased the hotel, and later acquired 
the property, as well as a lot adjoining on the east. He built 
a wing to the east, and refitted the hotel throughout making it 
a first-class establishment. The new Hotel Johnson is rated 
as one of the best hotels in Iowa. It is popular both with the 
citizens and with the traveling public. For several years past 




EARLY RED OAK. — Looking west on Coolbaugh street over the river valley. 




EARLY RED OAK. — Taken from the northeast corner town. 
M. E. church. Court house iust beyond church. 



Building in foreground First 



HISTORY OF RED OAK 297 

it has been the custom of society people in the city to give 
their swell functions at the hotel. 

For many years up to the time when the new railroad was 
put through by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad 
Co., the Depot Hotel was conducted under the supervision 
of the railroad company. In 1903, when the new passenger 
depot was built, the old Depot Hotel was abandoned and was 
sold to Thos. Griffith who moved it to Second and Market 
streets, where it was remodeled, veneered with brick, and made 
into a modern hotel. It is called the Colonial and at the present 
time is under the same management as Hotel Johnson. 

INDUSTRIES. 

The first pottery in Red Oak was established by Webster 
Eaton and his brother while the former was publishing The Red 
Oak Express. After several years, it was leased to W. H. 
Close, who about 1874, established the Red Oak Pottery 
Works. Mr. Close conducted this business until his death, 
about 1896, when he was succeeded by J. C. Curtis, who 
operates the plant at present. In addition to the pottery, he 
also manufactures brick and tile. R. E. Cook and F. A. 
Wetherhead also have a brick and tile works in the southeastern 
part of town. They manufacture principally for local con- 
sumption. A considerable portion of the pottery manufactured 
at the pottery works is sold throughout Southwestern Iowa. 

In 1870, a brewery was built in Red Oak which was con- 
ducted until state wide prohibition put it out of business. In 
the 70's, Joseph F. Fisher did an extensive local business in 
packing hogs. For many years George B. Brown conducted 
an iron foundry and machine shop and manufactured buggies. 
He later disposed of the foundry department and at the present 
time manufactures carriages and conducts a machine shop. 

At the present time, and for several years. The Kerrihard 
Co., of which E. W. Kerrihard is President, has conducted a 
foundry and machine shops and has a growing business. They 



298 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

manufacture pumps, steel tanks, soil pipe and a number of 
articles of their own invention, and conduct a general plumbing 
and heating business. 

The Replogle Co. is the largest manufacturer of flour in 
Southwestern Iowa, and one of the largest in the state. The 
company was established in 1889 and made rapid progress. 
On June 15, 1892, the mill was burned to the ground, but 
with commendable pluck, it was rebuilt at once, more complete 
than ever, and by November of the same year, the new mill 
was ready for business. Since then, the mill has been im- 
proved constantly, and is now and for some years has been run 
by elecricity, the power being furnished by the Red Oak Elec- 
tric Co. Two large steel storage tanks were erected a few 
years ago, with a capacity of fifty thousand bushels of wheat. 
The product of the mill is sold in more than one hundred towns 
in Southern Iowa. The founders were J. M. Replogle and his 
sons, Samuel M., David A., and J. H. Replogle. 

The Red Oak Canning Company was organized in 1 902 by 
the following persons: B. B. Clark, W. N. Malony, Thos. 
Griffith, H. C. Houghton, M. E. Fisher, M. N. Spencer, Ira 
M. Needles and S. H. Kirk. Mr. Needles was made the 
superintendent, he being a practical canning man. The com- 
pany bought the old packing house plant, located near the 
river in the west part of town. A complete plant was put in 
and the concern has run successfully ever since. The principal 
products of the factory are canned sweet corn and peas. 

ART CALENDARS. 
The most important manufacturing institution in Red Oak, 
and one of the most important in the state, is the calendar works 
of The Thos. D. Murphy Co. This business, as it is known 
today, originated in Red Oak in 1889, when calendars were 
made on a small scale. The business began with the firm of 
Osborne & Murphy, the members being Edmund B. Osborne 



HISTORY OF RED OAK 299 

and Thos. D. Murphy, two young men who had been college 
mates. In 1888, they were partners in the publication of the 
Red Oak Independent. When the plans for the new county 
court house had been perfected, they conceived the idea of 
using a picture of the proposed court house as the design for a 
calendar, printing the advertisement of Red Oak merchants 
around the picture. It proved quite a success and gave them 
the idea of reproducing pictures of old paintings by the half- 
tone process, using these pictures as calendar designs. A con- 
siderable business was built up by 1895, when Mr. Murphy 
retired from the company, which was continued by Mr. Osborne 
and his associates, the corporate name being changed to the 
Osborne Company. In 1899, the Osborne Co. moved its 
plant to Newark, N. J., and in 1900, Mr. Murphy organized 
The Thos. D. Murphy Co. This concern began business in 
a new building erected for it on Coolbaugh Street, just east 
of the square. The size of the building was 22 feet by 112, 
three stories high in front and one story in the rear. So rapidly 
did the business develop, that the following year, another build- 
ing was erected, full three stories high, with basement. Ever 
since then the business has developed rapidly, until in 1904 
no fewer than seven buildings were used by the company. In 
that year, they secured an entire block of ground in the south- 
west part of the city on Second Street, and a factory 240 feet 
long by 66 feet wide and three stories high, was erected. This 
did not serve the purpose for any great length of time, for in 
1906, they found it necessary to build an addition 66 feet 
wide by 106 feet long and three stories high. This factory is 
one of the most complete of its kind in the United States, and 
is considered a model factory building. It is a mill constructed 
building with an automatic sprinkler system. The building 
is heated by hot water furnished by the electric company which 
also furnishes the power. About three hundred persons are 
employed in the manufacture of calendars, which are sold al- 



300 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

most all over the English speaking world. In 1904, a branch 
was established in London, and a force of thirty salesmen sell 
the product throughout the United Kingdom. At the present 
time the product of the factory is distributed throughout Canada,^ 
Great Britain, the United States and the Hawaiian Islands, and 
many orders go to South Africa and other foreign countries. 

SCHOOLS. 

The first schoolhouse in Red Oak was erected about 1859. 
It was a small frame structure, made of native lumber, about 
20x20 feet in size, and was located near where the pottery now 
stands. It was also used as a meeting house where "protracted" 
meetings were held in an early day. When it was succeeded 
by a more pretentious edifice it was moved south of town 
near the South Cemetery, where it was used a number of years 
as a schoolhouse. The first teacher was Thomas Petty, wha 
afterwards lived near Elliott. 

The second school building in Red Oak was a small brick 
structure erected in 1 863 out on the prairie north of the business 
portion of the town. It was really located on Corning Street near 
the present high school building and for many years it was oc- 
cupied as a dwelling. W. H. Kerrihard was the contractor and 
Charles Bolt did the mason work. When it was completed, 
the district was so short of funds they couldn't pay for it and 
Mr. Kerrihard retained control of it for several years, during 
which time it was used indiscriminately for school purposes^ 
church services and for occasional dances. The district finally 
raised the necessary funds and the dances were discontinued. 
Among the early teachers were Hamilton White, who after- 
v/ards became famous as the Col. Sellers of Red Oak. He it 
was who later projected the sanitarium scheme, which resulted 
in the erection of what is known as the Sanitarium, which is at 
present used as a school and hospital for feeble minded chil- 
dren, conducted by Mrs. F. M. Powell and her daughter. Dr. 
Velura Powell. 



HISTORY OF RED OAK 301 

The Independent District of Red Oak was organized in 
Red Oak in 1870. At that time, the only school building 
was the small brick referred to above, and two teachers were 
employed to manage it. Red Oak's first graded school was 
opened in the spring of 1871 in what is known as the Lincoln 
School, erected at a cost of $22,000. In the summer of 1 8B1 , 
the Bancroft School, located in the north part of the city, was 
erected at a cost of $8,000. In the same year, the first course 
of study was printed. In 1882, the principal was given author- 
ity as Superintendent. The first principal of the high school 
was J. R. McKim. In the summer of 1889, a high school 
building was erected in the east part of the city, now known as 
the Webster School. In the same year,, the South Ward, af- 
terwards the Jefferson School, was erected. The two buildings 
cost $24,000, including the grounds. In 1892, the Washing- 
ton School building was erected in the west part of the city, 
at an expense of $20,000. The present High School building 
was erected in 1 898 at an expense of about $ 1 7,000. The 
public schools of the city rank among the best in the state. 

CIVIC SOCIETIES. 

The first Masonic lodge. Red Oak Lodge, No. 1 62, A. F. 
& A. M., was organized Nov. 16, 1861. Its charter mem- 
bers were Wm. Focht, Chas. Bolt, J. Ivens, I. Davis, R. M. G. 
Patterson, and the following were the first officers: J. W. 
Patterson, W. M.; G. A. Gordon, S. W.; J. M. Hewitt, 
J. W. ; Wm. Dunn, Treasurer; W. W. Merritt, Secretary. 

Montgomery Chapter, No. 57, R. A. M., was organized 
July 1, 1870. The following were the first members and 
officers: E. L. Grubb, H. P.; G. M. West. E. K.; J. R. 
Stratton, E. S.; E. M. Mills, C. of H.; P. St. Clair, P. S.; 
W. B. Kennedy, R. A. C; R. B. Temple, M. third vail; 
J. Julian, M. second vail; H. A. McFatrich, M. first vail; W. 
Stennett, Treasurer; H. Bennett, Secretary; J. Shover, Sentinel. 



302 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

Bruce Commandery, No. 34, was organized in April, 1 878. 
The charter members were: C. G. Atwood, W. C. Davis, 
C. F. Hall, F. P. Wormley, H. A. Thompson, J. W. Chace, 
Charles Kelly, N. A. Gray, C. L. Mahrenholz, Wayne Sten- 
nett and A. B. Combs. 

The first Odd Fellows' Lodge was organized August 24, 
1 869, by W. T. Biggs. The following were the first officers : 
W. G. Walker, N. G.; Isaac Fuller, V. G.; S. S. Purcell, 
R. S. ; J. L. Ashby, P. S. ; J. R. Cooley, Treasurer. 

Valley Encampment, No. 76, I. O. O. F., was organized 
April 21, 1875, the charter members being M. T. Anderson, 
E. Kretchmer, Hardin Pegram, W. H. Evans, Ira Pickett, 
H. C. French, D. B. Miller, Z. T. Fisher, A. McConnell 
and Smith McPherson. 

The Masonic Fraternity owns its own temple as do the Odd 
Fellows, the latter having also a club and reading room. One 
of the strongest lodges in the city is that of the Knights of 
Pythias, which has lodge and club rooms on the third floor of 
the Houghton Bank block. The club rooms are provided with 
billiard tables, reading room and bowling alley. 

The first post of the Grand Army of the Republic was or- 
ganized in Red Oak in 1867, about a year after the founding 
of the order. It was known as Post No. 1 1 7, G. A. R., and 
was organized August 3, 1 867, by G. W. Burns. The char- 
ter members were E. A. Harris, John W. Campbell, P. H. 
Goode, T. H. Dearborn, W. P. Wiley, E. H. Burris. C. M. 
Bartlett, J. S. Cook, A. W. Harding, L. W. Cook. The first 
officers were: E. A. Harris, Post Commander; I. M. Binns, 
Senior Vice Commander; John W. Campbell, Junior Vice 
Commander; P. H. Goode, Post Adjutant; T. H. Dearborn, 
Post Quartermaster. The post grew until it had about thirty- 
three members, but in the course of two or three years it died 
out and gave up its charter. The second organization, known 
as Lyon Post, No. 9, G. A. R., was organized in May, 1878. 



HISTORY OF RED OAK 303 

The officers elected were John S. Stidger, Post Commander; 
H. H. Palmer, S. V. C. ; T. J. Edwards, J. V. C. ; T. H. Lee. 
Q. M.; S. A. Jones, Officer of the Day; H. G. McMillan. 
Officer of the Guard; E. S. Rogers, Chaplain, A. A. Clapp, 
Surgeon; A. W. Harding, Sergeant Major; D. S. Haas, 
Quartermaster Sergeant. However, this organization was not 
even as successful as its predecessor, for it did not last over 
six months. 

Three years later, September 1 9th, 1 88 1 , another post was 
organized. Just what the original name was, history does not 
say, but when the original members came down on the street 
after having effected their organization, they heard the news of 
President Garfield's death. They immediately turned about, 
went up to the lodge room where they reconsidered their first 
name and substituted for it the name of the martyred President. 
The post therefore became known as Garfield Post, No. 57. 
G. A. R. The following were the first officers and charter 
members: Joel Carey, Commander; H. H. Palmer, Senior 
Vice Commander; J. B. Bishop, Junior Vice Commander; 
T. C. Gaylord, Adjutant; J. W. Martin, Surgeon; Jesse Saut- 
bin. Quartermaster; P. S. Douglas, Quartermaster Sergeant. 
W. A. Hayes, Erial Stevens, J. W. McCoy, Wm. Cozad, J. 
D. Graham, R. McLaughlin, J. V. Bliss, J. W. Hiatt, E. T. 
Judd, D. J. Ockerson, G. W. Mohler, John Malnburg. J. H. 
Binney. There were a number of others besides those named 
above who were present at the first meeting but who did not 
sign the charter roll. C. C. Platter, at present postmaster at 
Red Oak, made the motion to change the name to Garfield 
Post. Garfield Post prospered and has had a continuous 
existence ever since. 

In 1 893 the work of the G. A. R. was supplemented by the 
organization of the Woman's Relief Corps under the name of 
Garfield Relief Corps, No. 264. There were twenty-five 
charter members, the first president being Mrs. W. A. Harding, 



304 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

who held that office for three years. The other officers were: 
Treasurer, Mrs. T. H. Dearborn; Secretary, Mrs. Laura 
Pogue; Sr. Vice., Mrs. Francis Graybil; Jr. Vice., Mrs. Eliza- 
beth Sautbin ; Chaplain, Mrs. Olive Hite ; Conductor, Mrs. Ed 
Kretchmer; Guard, Mrs. Abbie Bliss. Mrs. Hite has served 
as chaplain continuously since the organization of the corps. 
The Relief Corps has done much to alleviate the suffering 
among the poor, especially among the families of old soldiers. 
For a number of years Red Oak has been recognized as one 
of the neatest, cleanest, best kept towns in the state, and much 
credit for this state of things is due to the women of Red Oak. 
Realizing the value of united effort, a number of the prominent 
women of Red Oak joined in organizing the Monday Club of 
Red Oak, the articles of incorporation being signed April 7, 
1896. The first officers were: Mary A. Jones, President; 
Harriet E. Leach, First Vice President; Emily Taylor Fisher, 
Second Vice President; Olivette C. Junkin, Recording Secre- 
tary; Addie L. Clark, Corresponding Secretary; Maude C. 
Pomeroy, Treasurer. The board of directors for the first year 
was composed of the above named officers and the following 
persons: Rosa S. Clark, Sara C. Fisher, Ella L. Houghton, 
Maria C. Kriedler, Ina C. Murphy, Jessie Graham Osborne, 
Emma R. Palmer and Leola S. Tilly. The club holds its reg- 
ular meetings in the Knights of Pythias hall once a month. Its 
work is divided into a number of different departments such as 
Music, History, Literature, Current Topics, Domestic Science 
and Village Improvement. In the departments of History, 
Literature and Music, regular courses of study are carried on. 
The Village Improvement society, particularly in its early days, 
did a great deal toward beautifying the city. Their first im- 
portant accomplishment after the organization of the club was 
the installing of the clock in the court house. The ladies con- 
ducted the campaign for the necessary funds and arranged to 
have the clock put in the tower. They also took charge of 



HISTORY OF RED OAK 305 

College Park, put it in order and put down cement walks around 
and through it. In addition to these things the influence of the 
society has been toward building up an ideal city. At the 
present time the largest department of the club is the Current 
Topics department. So large has this department grown that 
its bi-weekly meetings are held at the Hotel Johnson, where 
subjects of current interest are discussed by the members. One 
reason for the large attendance doubtless is that the husbands 
of the members are admitted to the meetings of the Current 
Topics department. The Monday Club is a member of the 
Iowa Federated Woman's Club, and its members take an im- 
portant part in federation affairs. 

The first military company organized in Red Oak was Com- 
pany K. The enthusiasm aroused by a soldiers' reunion held 
at Clarinda, Page County, June 1, 1878, resulted in the or- 
ganization of a military company, H. G. McMillan, the county 
sheriff, taking the lead in the matter. The first meeting was 
held June 1 7th, and the organization was completed August 
20, 1878, by the election of E. S. Rogers, Captain; W. P. 
Wiley, First Lieutenant; T. H. Dearborn, Second Lieutenant. 
There were fifty men enrolled. The company did not become 
a member of the guard, however, until in June, 1 879, when it 
was assigned as Company K of the 5 th Regiment, and received 
state arms consisting of breech loading Springfield rifles. The 
first observance of Decoration Day at Red Oak was in 1880, 
the work of decoration being under the direction of members 
of Company K. At that time there were five soldiers' graves 
to be decorated. Company K flourished for a number of 
years, the captain for a time being W. H. Evans who has 
served continuously in the Iowa National Guard for more than 
thirty years, and is at present General Inspector of Small Arms 
practice with the rank of Colonel. Captain Evans was after- 
ward elected major and after a time the company was mustered 
out. A few years later, in 1893, Company M of the 3rd 



306 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

regiment was organized, particulars of which will be found in 
the article on the Spanish American war. At the close of 
the war and after the Iowa Regiments had been mustered out, 
the National Guard was reorganized. Company M retaining 
its position in the guard, but the number of its regiment being 
changed to the 55th. Shortly after its re-organization. Captain 
J. W. Clark was elected Lieutenant Colonel, and he was suc- 
ceeded by the then First Lieutenant, Guy E. Logan, who, at 
the present time is Assistant Adjutant General, with the rank 
of Major. The officers at this time are: Captain, Ivan E. 
Ellwood; First Lieutenant, Earl Hessler; Second Lieutenant, 
G. Ray Logan. Company M has a membership of about fifty 
and ranks among the very best in the state both in drill and 
rifle practice. 

In May 1897, the Mayflower Chapter of the Daughters of 
the American Revolution was organized with a membership 
of fifteen. The following named members were chosen as 
officers: Mrs. John Hayes, Regent; Mrs. B. B. Clark, Vice 
Regent; Mrs. H. C. Houghton, Secretary; Mrs. F. M. Byrkit, 
Treasurer. The board of management consisted of the two 
first named officers and Mrs. M. E. Fisher, Mrs. J. M. Junkin 
and Mrs. George Palmer. 

In addition to the societies and clubs named herein, there are 
a number of fraternal benefit societies with a healthy member- 
ship. There are also the usual church societies, all with a 
good membership, and accomplishing good work. A history 
of the churches will be found in another chapter. 
NEWSPAPERS. 

The first newspaper to be published in Red Oak was The 
Oak Express, the first number of which was issued March 28, 
1868. An account of its early days, written by Webster 
Eaton, its first editor, will be found elsewhere in this book. 
According to the records, Mr. Eaton sold the paper Nov. 1 0, 
1871, to B. E. A. Simons. The following February, Mr, 



HISTORY OF RED OAK 307 

Simons sold a half interest to W. F. Eastman. Several months 
later, Mr. Simons sold his remaining interest to Z. T. Fisher, 
and the paper was conducted by the firm of Fisher & Eastman 
until Nov. 15, 1872, when they sold out to Joel and W. S. 
Mayne. Thereafter, J. Mayne was the real editor and pub- 
lisher of the paper until June 1, 1880, when S. C. Hunter 
came into control of the paper. Six months later, he sold out 
to John Killets, a young college-bred man from Ohio, who 
spent considerable money in enlarging the plant. Two yecirs 
later he was succeeded by J. W. Chaffin, and that gentleman in 
the fall of 1883 sold it to C. W. Snyder, formerly of Cedar 
Falls. A year later, a third interest was disposed of to his 
nephew, C. P. Sheffer. The firm of C. W. Snyder & Co. 
continued the publication until January, 1886, when the Ex- 
press Printing Company was formed by consolidation with 
the Republican, published by Saylor & Danforth. C. W. 
Snyder acted as President and Manager of the new concern 
until January, 1 890, when he sold his stock to Mr. Sheffer and 
W. T. Hollowell. In the spring of 1895, Thos. D. Murphy 
purchased the stock of the paper and consolidated it with the 
Red Oak Independent. Mr. Murphy has owTied a controlling 
interest in the paper ever since. With the exception of a period 
during 1872 and 1873, when The Express issued a daily, it 
has been published as a weekly. The ELxpress is and always 
has been Republican in politics and for years has ranked as one 
of the leading country weeklies of the state. At present the 
plant is one of the most complete of the kind in the state, part 
of its equipment being a linotype typesetting machine. 

The Red Oak Record was established June 5, 1871, by 
John S. Stidger of Keosauqua, Van Buren Co. When the 
paper was first started, it was independent in politics, but in 
1874 it came out in favor of Republicanism. In 1876, Cap- 
tain Stidger associated with him his son, C. W. Stidger, and 
in September, 1 880, the firm became Stidger Bros., the father 



308 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

retiring. On July, 1879, the first issue of the Daily Record 
was published. This was continued until 1885. Some time 
before this, one of the Stidgers sold his interest to A. J. Graham. 
In February, 1885, Graham & Fisher sold to W. W. Riner. 
About April, 1885, Riner sold to J. F. Saylor, former City 
Superintendent and, afterwards. County Superintendent of 
Schools. Mr. Saylor sold a half interest to T. C. Danforth a 
few weeks later and changed the name to The Republican. 
In January, 1 886, the Republican was consolidated with The 
Express. 

When Riner bought the business, he gave a mortgage on 
the plant held by A. J. Graham. When the Republican was 
consolidated with The Express, this mortgage was overlooked 
and Mr. Graham had to take the plant to protect the mortgage. 
He then started the Red Oak Independent early in 1 887, and 
associated with him, W. T. Hatswell. Mr. Graham died 
in the fall of 1887 and his son-in-law, Edmund B. Osborne, 
succeeded him. A few months later, Thos. D. Murphy pur- 
chased Mr. Hatswell's interest and the Independent was con- 
ducted by Osborne & Murphy until 1895, when Mr. Murphy 
bought out Mr. Osborne's interest and, buying The Express 
at the same time, consolidated the two papers. 

The Red Oak Democrat was established by Wm. C. Stid- 
ger, a son of John S. Stidger, who founded the Record. The 
Democrat, as the name indicates, supported the Democratic 
party. On Sept. 3, 1 880, the Democrat was sold to Linehan 
& Esser. The field was evidently not a productive one for that 
sort of a paper and it gave up the struggle on Feb. 18, 1 88 1 . 

The first democratic paper in the county was the New 
Era, which was established at Red Oak in Febuary, 1876, 
by Captain H. M. Hall. In the fall of 1877, he sold it to 
G. Dennis, who established the People's Telephone Sept. 7. 
1877, as a Greenback paper. In the spring of 1879, Mr. 
Dennis sold a half interest in the paper to H. M. Hall, the 



HISTORY OF RED OAK 309 

publishers being Dennis & Hall. On Dec. 3, 1879, Dennis 
& Hall sold a half interest to N. W. Cook, the title of the 
firm being, N. W. Cook & Co., Mr. Dennis retiring from the 
management. On April 13, 1881, Dennis, Cook & Hall 
sold to Dr. R. D. Sperry, who took his son, Wm. Sperry, as 
partner, and the firm was R. D. Sperry & Son. On Aug. 
27, 1884, the paper was sold to Messrs. Boll & Clark, who 
changed the name to The Red Oak Sun, and its politics be- 
came Democratic. Messrs. Boll & Clark have conducted the 
Sun successfully ever since. 

After the consolidation of The Express and Independent, 
Red Oak had only two newspapers, the Express and the Sun. 
In the fall of 1895, W. E. Cherry, of Creston, came to Red 
Oak and started the Saturday Evening Mail. It was started 
primarily as a society paper and created more or less comment, 
but did not prove a great success. The next year, W. W. 
Montgomery, who had just completed his term as County Sup- 
erintendent of Schools, purchased the plant and changed the 
name of the paper to The Republican. In 1 897, C. P. Shef- 
fer, who had been one of the editors of The Express, bought 
a half interest in The Republican and the paper was conducted 
for a number of years by Montgomery & Sheffer. It never 
proved a financial success, nor did it gain any considerable cir- 
culation. It led a precarious career until about 1904, Mr. 
Montgomery in the meantime having sold his interest. Mr. 
Sheffer was finally compelled to suspend publication and at the 
present time and for several years past. Red Oak has only two 
newspapers. 



CHAPTER XXXI 



OTHER TOWNS OF THE COUNTY 



VILLISCA. 
The city of Villisca is located between the branches of the 
Nodaway river, two miles north from their confluence. In the 
old days when the county was young, this neighborhood was 
called "The Forks." The name Villisca is said to be of In- 
dian origin, signifying "Pretty Place." The original plat of 
the city of Villisca was filed for record on May 20th, 1858, 
by David M. Smith, who represented the interests of the Bur- 
lington Railroad. At that time J. B. Packard was County 
Recorder, and the plat was certified to before Wm. Berkey, 
Clerk of the District court of Lucas County. The plat was 
surveyed by Frank M. Davis, who certified to his survey be- 
fore County Judge, J. R. Horton, on Febuary 16th, 1858. 
The basis of the town plat was the original Burlington Survey. 
When a final survey was made there was a slight change made 
in the course of the railroad, and as consequence, a supplemental 
plat was filed by the owners of the unsold lots, composed prin- 
cipally of parties representing the Burlington interests, among 
them being Geo. Loomis, E. D. Rand, Hans Thielson, and 
S. H. Mallory. This supplemental plat was filed November 
8th, 1869, the County Recorder at that time being W. P. 
Wiley. While the town site was located in 1 858, Villisca re- 
mained principally a paper town until the Burlington railroad 
was completed in 1869. A town government was organized 
in 1869 with Morgan S. Thurman as Mayor. The following 



OTHER TOWNS 311 

IS a complete list of mayors from the incorporation of the town 
until the present time: M. S. Thurman, 1869 to 1872; John 
Buckingham, 1872 to 1873; C. P. Ingman, 1873 to 1874; 

B. Burrows. 1874 to 1875; P. R. Bates. 1875 to 1876; C. 
M. Waterman. 1876 to 1877; P. R. Bates. 1877 to 1882; 
F. P. Greenlee. 1882 to 1883; P. R. Bates. 1883 to 1884; 
A. M. Walters. 1884 to 1885; P. R. Bates. 1885 to 1888; 
J. S. Jackson. 1888 to 1889; Peter R. Bates. 1889 to 1890; E. 

C. Gibbs. 1890 to 1892; C. J. West. March, 1892 to July. 
1892; M. M. Stoddard, September and October. 1892; C. E. 
Gibbs. October. 1892 to March. 1894; F. P. Greenlee. 1894 
to 1898; J. M. Howland. 1898 to 1900; E. C Gibbs.' 1900 
to 1906; J. S. Jackson, 1906. 

Villisca was incorporated as a city of the second class in 
March 1892. 

The first public school was taught in Villisca when it was 
scarcely more than a name. This school and much of the 
early history of Villisca is described in the chapters on "Early 
Life m The Forks," which was written by one of the early 
settlers of Villisca. The first schoolhouse was erected in 1868. 
private buildings having been used for school purposes up to 
that time. In 1874. the schools were organized under the 
grade system with C. G. George as superintendent. That 
year the first brick school house was built. It stood until 1902, 
when the present line Lincoln school building was erected. 

The first newspaper enterprise of any permanency was 
started by W. T. Sherman in the spring of 1869. his paper be- 
ing called the Villisca Journal. It was Republican in poli- 
tics and survived about eighteen months. The next newspa- 
per venture was the Weekly Mercury, started by a company, 
July 14, 1871, with Thos. F. Kames as editor and manager. 
Wm. D. Loy bought the paper from the company, August 
25. 1871. On March 7. 1872, the name was changed to the 
Villisca Review, and it was continued independent in politics. 



312 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

From April, 1 874, till September, 1 875, H. G. Thurman was 
the editor, and he made it a Republican paper, to which party 
it has given allegiance ever since. Thurman sold out to C. K. 
Kennedy in September, 1 875. In November of 1 877, A. E. 
Powers bought a half interest and for a number of years the 
paper was conducted by the firm of Powers & Kennedy. A 
few years later Mr. Powers retired, and until about 1900 the 
Review was edited and published by Mr. Kennedy, with the 
exception of a short time when Ed E. Davis controlled the 
paper. B. C. Hullinger, a young man from Michigan, bought 
the Review from Mr. Kennedy and has been editor and pub- 
lisher ever since. He added materially to the equipment, and 
the Review ranks as one of the first class country papers in south- 
western Iowa. Mr. Kennedy is now publisher of a paper at At- 
lantic, Cass county. 

The Villisca, Montgomery County, Independent was found- 
ed by H. K. Gregory in 1 879. It was an eight page, six column 
paper, Republican in politics. The Independent never took 
high rank as a country newspaper, and was succeeded in 1 888 
by J. V. Hoeye, who rechristened it the Republican. The new 
name did not serve to make it more successful, and Mr. Hoeye 
left after three months, selling the plant and good will to the 
Gardner Bros., who changed the name to the Villisca Letter, 
and its politics to Democratic. They also bought a new out- 
fit, practically making a new paper of it. A few years later one 
of the Gardner Brothers sold his interest, and for a number of 
years it was conducted by E. O. Gardner who sold to the Wal- 
lace Brothers in 1900, who are very successfully conducting 
the paper at present. 

The first bank was started in 1871 by W. S. Alger & Co., 
private bankers. This bank was succeeded eventually by the 
First National Bank of Villisca which occupies a substantial 
brick building owned by the bank. It has deposits amounting 
to about a quarter of a million dollars. Mr. Alger is president 




Reading trom the left — Oliver A. Milner, and in rotation, Mrs. John Oliver, Mr. and Mrs. A. Milner, 
Harry, Mrs. Alice Stacy, Mrs. Ann Emery, Miss May, Mrs. John Vetter, Mrs. D. Lyon and 
Miss Sarah. 



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JOHN G. JONES, one of the earliest Welsh settlers, and family. 



OTHER TOWNS 313 

of the bank, and B. F. Fast is cashier. In 1876, A. W. Sweet 
organized a private bank, and this was recently succeeded 
by the Villisca National bank of which Amos P. West is pres- 
ident, and F. F. Jones, cashier. It is also in a prosperous con- 
dition and occupies its own building. 

Villisca's first fire company was organized November 18, 
1876, by C. N. Stoddard and others. The first officers were 
John W. Allen, chief of fire department; J. W. Lucas, foreman; 
J. B. Cowgill, First Assistant Foreman; C. K. Kennedy, Sec- 
ond Asst. Foreman; D. B. Prescott, Secy.; W. S. Alger, 
Treasurer. The department at the present time is well equiped 
for fighting fire and is backed up by an excellent waterworks 
system. 

Among the successful industries established in Villisca are 
a flour mill, a brick and tile factory, a cooper shop, a cultivator 
factory and cement bridge works. The electric plant furnishes 
power for several of the factories. A great deal of grain is 
marketed at Villisca. 

Villisca has been the home of a militia company for the last 
thirty years. A cursory account of the career of the company 
during the Spanish American war will be found in another chap- 
ter. Company B is the name of the Villisca military organiza- 
tion. It was founded April 24, 1876, through the efforts of 
Captain W. W. Ellis and F. P. Greenlee, the company clerk. 
The first enrollment contained twenty-three names, and they 
were mustered into service by Captain Ellis in May, 1876. 
The officers at that time were, W. W. Ellis, Captain; J. W. 
Lucas, First Lieutenant ; Elihu Davis, Second Lieutenant. Lu- 
cas and Davis subsequently resigned, and P. Wymore was elec- 
ted First Lieutenant, and F. P. Greenlee, Second Lieutenant. 
In May, 1878, Captain Ellis was elected Colonel of the 5th 
regiment of which Company B was a part, and Lieutenant Wy- 
more was elected captain to fjll the vacancy, F. P. Greenlee 
being elected First Lieutenant, and Eli Nirdlinger, Second 



314 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

Lieutenant. Both lieutenants resigning soon afterwards, Elmer 
E. Vaughn was elected First Lieutenant, and Wm. Busch, 
Second Lieutenant. In 1880, the company built an armory 
20 by 50 feet on Third Avenue at the cost of $300.00. This 
armory has been used for regulcir weekly meetings and drills. 
After the return of Company B from the Phillipines the company 
was re-organized and is now in a prosperous condition. 

The following appreciation of Villisca is furnished the author 
by a prominent citizen of Villisca: 

Villisca has a population of some 2500 people. Coming 
from various eastern states, but largely from Ohio, they brought 
with them the culture and habits of the older, more refined and 
discriminating east, and at once began the work of building a 
town with handsome landscape effects as well as business con- 
veniences, so that Villisca of today may be said to possess most 
of the sanitary, and some of the more aristocratic and exclusive 
embellishments of cities of a much larger growth. Being located 
on an undulating ridge between the two rivers, it slopes gently 
to the south, furnishing fine drainage facilities, while its pict- 
uresque views are delightful. 

There are four fine churches occupied by Methodist, Pres- 
byterian, Baptist and Christian denominations, besides a Free 
Methodist, a Catholic and a Christian Science church. 
These congregations number some thirteen hundred members 
with a Sunday school attendance of between ten hundred and 
eleven hundred. Villisca may well be called the "Village of 
Churches." Her schools are well organized and are conducted 
under the advanced methods of the Iowa School laws. The 
High School prepares its graduates for entrance to college. 
Her public buildings, stores and the better class of dwellings 
are large, imposing, built in a pleasing style of architecture with 
all modern sanitary conveniences, ranking well up to similar 
buildings in cities. 

Villisca has a good practical system of electric lights which 



TTT: '^:iM OTHER TOWNS 315 

accomodate the streets, public buildings and dwellings. It has 
also one of the best system of waterworks to be found any where, 
the supply coming from a soft water spring and well. The 
water is abundant, pure and tasteless. As yet the paving of 
streets exists only in theory; but it would be difficult to find 
a city of any size with better sidewalks. Built of concrete ce- 
ment and brick, they lie in front of every occupied lot in the 
town. The streets in the residence portion are arranged on the 
French boulevard system, with wide parking spaces on either 
side and a forty-five foot roadway in the middle, giving an as- 
pect of beauty, refinement and wealth seldom seen outside of 
large cities. Nearly all the fraternities are represented and are 
successful. Strangers, if worthy, are made welcome and are 
entertained in hospitable homes. No saloon has been allowed 
here for twenty years, and temperance laws are generally well 
enforced. 

Such, in brief, is Villisca. Her growth has been slow but 
constant. No fictitious boom was ever sought or desired. Her 
present attainments are a pleasure to contemplate, and for her 
future there are only pleasing anticipations. 

ELLIOTT 

The town of Elliott is situated in section 1 2 of Sherman town- 
ship on the east bank of the Nishnabotna river, and on the line 
of the Red Oak and Atlantic branch of the C. B. & Q. Rail- 
road. The town was surveyed by Anselmo B. Smith, and the 
original plat of the town was filed October 31st, 1879, by C. 
E. Perkins, representing the C. B. & Q. Railroad company. 
Prior to the location of the town of Elliott there had been a 
post office called Wilson on the I. H. Page farm in Pilot Grove 
township. Mr. Page had a small general stock of merchandise 
and was the postmaster. When Elliott was located he moved 
his stock of goods to that place, and also the post office, the 
name being changed to Elliott, and Mr. Page being continued 
as postmaster. Joseph Clure built the first business house in the 



316 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

town and opened a drug store in January, 1880. In July of 
the same year he was appointed postmaster instead of Mr. Page. 
In the early days Elliott was a particularly good grain and cat- 
tle market, and a large quantity of those products still find their 
way to that place. Elliott is a substantial village of from 500 
to 1 000 inhabitants with a good system of public schools, water 
works, and fire department. 

The town of Elliott was scarcely six months old when a 
newspaper was established. It was called the Elliott Enterprise. 
At first it was printed elsewhere and shipped to Elliott for dis- 
tribution. The paper under that name did not last long, being 
succeeded in 1881 by the Graphic, a Mr. Howard of Tabor 
being the promotor. The Graphic was not a particularly re- 
munerative proposition, especially in the early days, and it 
changed ownership frequently. W. W. Montgomery, after- 
wards County Superintendent, and later one of the publishers of 
the Red Oak Republican, was proprietor of the paper for a 
time. E. E. Kneedy, a Christain preacher, combined the pro- 
fessions of the ministry and journalism for several years. For 
the last few years the Graphic has prospered and ranks among 
the good country newspapers of the community. The present 
editor is E. C. McCarthy, who has greatly improved both plant 
and paper. 

The Bank of Elliott was established in 1884 with H. E. 
Manker, Cashier, and J. J. Manker, President. The same in- 
stitution has been conducted ever since with Mr. H. E. Man- 
ker as the presiding genius. A few years ago it was changed 
to a national bank, and is now called the First National Bank 
of Elliott. It has had a prosperous career, and is rated as a 
conservative financial institution. 

THE FOREIGN ELEMENT— STANTON— WALES. 

The population of Montgomery County is made up prin- 
cipally of immigrants from older states in the east and from 
other sections of Iowa. The two principal exceptions to this 



OTHER TOWNS 317 

rule are the Swedes and Welsh, though of course there are a 
few Germans, English and other nationalities scattered through- 
out the county. 

Both the Swedes and the Welsh are an intelligent class of 
citizens, industrious, and they are practically all in well-to-do 
circumstances, while some of them are quite wealthy. 

When the railroad was being built in 1869, the officials of 
the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad Company offered 
to Rev. B. M. Halland of Burlington, Iowa, his choice of loca- 
tion at any point along the line of their road for settlement of 
his countr)nmen as there was to be a vast amount of land opened 
up as soon as the road was completed. In April of that year 
Mr. Halland made a trip from Burlington to Council Bluffs 
in company with one of the officials, and he decided on Frank- 
fort, Scott and Grant Townships in Montgomery County and 
Douglas and Fremont Townships in Page County as being suit- 
able for his people. During the fall of the same year several 
excursions were made to these lands, but no sales were made 
until the spring of 1870. As the sole agency for the Icinds 
in these townships was placed with Mr. Halland, they were 
sold to Swedish buyers, and as a consequence, a large majority 
of the citizens, especially of Scott Township, are of his na- 
tionality. Scott Township was organized in 1 870, the original 
name being given Stanton. This, however, was afterward 
changed to Scott, and the name of the town was made Stanton. 
The original plat of the town of Stanton v/as filed October 24, 
1870, by Geo. F. Harris, land commissioner of the Burlington & 
Missouri River Railroad. 

The first lot in ihe town was purchased by Malcom Holm, 
and by the Swedes the town was called Holmstad, being the 
name of Rev. Halland's native town in Sweden. The name 
was not popular with the railroad men, however, and it was 
therefore called Stanton. The first child bom in Stanton was 
a son of Malcom Holm, and in honor of the town he was named 
Stanton. The first store was built and operated by Peterson 



318 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

& Hogwall on the site of Wallin Bros, brick store. The build- 
ing was about 1 4x 1 6 feet in size, and the stock was very limited. 
The postoffice found a home in this building, and the mail 
boxes consisted of two or three cigar boxes on one of the shelves. 
A school house was built the same year and was used until 
1 883 when the present line brick building took its place. 

The Stanton Call was established in 1882 by Kennedy & 
Thurman, but they sold shortly after to F. S. Lynch, who got 
along after a fashion until March 1886 when the delinquent 
subscribers and the thouscind and one other worries proved too 
much for him and he was sent to the asylum at Clarinda. His 
successor was W. R. Roberts who was himself succeeded by 
J. E. Deffenbaugh, who remained in charge until 1893, when 
he sold to Wm. F. Stipe, a young man who had been farmer 
and school teacher in turn. Stipe improved his leisure time 
outside his duties by studying law, and afterwards disposed 
of his business and took up the profession of law and is now 
practicing in Clarinda. He was succeeded by James Johnston 
who conducted the paper for a number of years and sold the 
paper to A. C. Gustafson, who is the proprietor at the present 
time, though lately appointed private secretary to Hon. H. E. 
Deemer, of the state supreme bench. The Call has developed 
under its present management into a first class country paper, 
all home print. Mr. A. J. Albin is at present associated with 
Mr. Gustafson and has charge of the local work of the paper. 

Stanton was incorporated as a town in 1882, and E. E. 
Mercer was the first mayor. In 1888 the town met its first 
serious fire loss, the entire block on the east side being destroyed. 
The loss was a heavy one as there was but little insurance. 
The burned buildings were quickly replaced by substantial brick 
blocks. At the present time Stanton is a prosperous village. 

While Stanton and Scott Township is settled almost ex- 
clusively by Swedish people, they have not confined their efforts 
to any one township, consequently we find Swedish citizens^ 



OTHER TOWNS 319 

or the descendants of Swedes, in every township in the county, 
and wherever they are found they are cunong the most prosper- 
ous people of the community. 

There are no paupers among the Swedes, and they take care 
of the fatherless. When the colonization scheme was carried 
out, the question of establishing an Orphans* Home in Iowa 
was brought up. Rev. Halland, with this idea in mind, had 
reserved a piece of land a mile and a half south of Stanton, 
and it was finally decided to establish the Orphans' Home on 
this land. A building was erected in 1 88 1 , and this has been 
added to from time to time as necessity required. Two hun- 
dred and forty acres of land is owned by the Association in 
connection with the buildings. During the twenty-five years 
of the the existence of the Home, 103 children, sixty-one boys 
and forty-two girls have been taken care of. There are at 
present forty-five children in the Home. J. T. Ringberg was 
chosen for the first manager, serving about two years. C. G. 
Lind was one of the managers, serving a number of years. 
The funds to carry on this charitable work have been con- 
tributed by the congregations of the conference within the state, 
and the produce of the farm helps pay the expenses. 

WELSH COLONY. 
The first Welshmen to come to Montgomery County, ac- 
cording to an early historian, were Benjamin Thomas and David 
and William Harris, who came here in the spring of 1 855 and 
purchased two sections of land from the government at $1.25 
per acre. However, it was not till fifteen years later that there 
was any concerted movement of the Welsh toward Montgomery 
County. In 1870, John M. Davis, Richard P. Jones and 
John E. Wood settled in Lincoln township. They were fol- 
lowed the next year by Henry Thomas, John G. Jones, Wm. 
T. Edwards, Griff H. Jones, Griff Thomas and several others. 
A village grew up in this settlement called Wales. Two 
churches were built in 1876, the Congregational and Presby- 



320 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

terian. The Welsh are a patriotic, law abiding people, and 
quickly imbibe the spirit of our institutions. Like the 
Swedes, the Welsh have become scattered in other places 
besides their original settlement in Lincoln Township, and 
wherever they live are rated among the prosperous, substantial 
citizens of the county. 

THE TOWN OF MILFORD. 

The early history of the town of Milford, in Douglas Town- 
ship, is coincident with the early history of Montgomery Coun- 
ty, for it was in this part of the county that many of the earliest 
settlements were made. A mill was built there in 1856 by 
Smith & Bell, the Smith being S. M. Smith who is still living 
at this writing, and has resided continuously at Milford ever 
since. This mill was built for the purpose of sawing lumber. 
The next year a set of burrs was put in to enable them to grind 
flour as well. The lumber for the flume was purchased in 
Adair county and Mr. Smith had to haul com from Missouri 
the first winter to feed his family and stock, paying $1.00 per 
bushel for it. In 1873-4 a new mill was built at a cost of 
$15,000. The first house in Milford was built by Thos. 
Donaho in 1857, a year before the town was laid out. The 
town plat of Milford was laid out on June 29, 1 858, by Thos. 
Donaho, who afterwards sold the site to Sam'l M. Smith. In 
1876 the Milford schoolhouse was built at a cost of $4,500. 
While the town is named Milford, the postoffice is named Grant. 
After the establishment of the town of Elliott, mail was de- 
livered from that town dail> and when rural delivery came, the 
mail was carried by the rural carrier. 

A Masonic lodge was organized in 1 876, and a prosperous 
G. A. R. Post is also maintained as well as other civic societies. 
Milford has a bank and the usual complement of other business 
houses. 



AP PENDIX A. 

A CHRONOLOGICAL RECORD OF EVENTS, MORE OR LESS IM- 
PORTANT, IN THE HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY CO. 
FIRST DECADE, 1850-1860. 



In the year prior to 185 0, only one white man lived within the 
borders of the county — John Ross, a native of Kentuclcy, who set- 
tled a short distance east of the present city of Villisca. He had 
left the home of his childhood and youth, and, with his wife as his 
only companion, had made his way northward, remaining a short 
time near St. Joseph, Mo.; then on, stopping two years in Page 
County; and finally locating in Montgomery County at the place 
now known as Ross' Grove. Here he subsisted principally upon the 
wild game with which the country abounded. He depended for food 
upon his trusty rifle — affectionately called "Old Betsey" — and in 
his log cabin there was no lack of wild turkey or venison. He was 
a large, broad-shouldered man, of powerful physique, and capable 
of great endurance. By those who came to the county subsequently, 
he was known as "Buffalo Ross," which name was probably applied 
ro him because of the coat he wore, made from the hide of that 
animal, since the bison had already gone to the land of the Dakotas. 

1850 — The population of the county doubled during the next 
year, when "Buffalo's" brother, James, settled near him. The dis- 
tinction of being the third settler lies between Ezra Healy, an 
Indianian, and John Stafford, of Grant Township. The before men- 
tioned families were the pioneers of the pioneers of Montgomery 
County. In their isolated condition, they knew but little of what 
was transpiring in the outside world. They doubtless knew some- 
thing, however, of the immense emigration to California in the 
>ears 1849-50-51-52, when great caravans crossed the state in 
search of gold. The motive power was furnished by oxen, hitched 
to wagons especially constructed for that purpose. Camp equip- 
ments, provisions, tools, and arms for defense against the Indians 
were an indispensible part of the outfit. It took three weeks to 
cross the state from the Mississippi to the Missouri River, and many 
months to reach their destination. Emigration was diverted from 
the rich and fertile lands to California. The great route of travel 
was through the tier of counties north and south of Montgomery 
County, and what few people there were here could reap no re- 
ward in furnishing them supplies for the very good reason that 
there were none to deliver. 

On the 15th day of May, 1850, the Whigs held their State Con- 
vention at Iowa City, and resolved in favor of free men, free ter- 
ritory, free states and the revision of the Constitution of the state. 
The election resulted in the following vote: Democrats 13,486, 
Whigs 11,4 03 and Free Soil 575 votes. 

It is doubtful whether political matters interested the settlers 
greatly at this time. The "irrepressible conflict" and the "Wilmot 
Proviso," excluding slavery from the territories, were live ques- 
tions at that time in other parts of the country, and two or three 
years later became of absorbing interest to the settlers. During 
the session of the Legislature of 1850, Montgomery and many other 
counties were established, but were not surveyed until the next year. 



322 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

1851"1852 — The name of J. F. Snider appears among the set- 
tlers during 1851 and the next year are recorded the names of 
eleven men, some with families, viz: A. G. Lowe, William Finlej% 
Henry Means, John Harris, Richard W. Rogers, Samuel C. Dunn, 
Robert Dunn, J. H. Sager, Chauncey Sager and William Wilson. 
William Dunn was a government surveyor and became well ac- 
quainted with the choice locations. With his brothers, S. C. and 
Robert, and the Pattersons — R. M. G. and sons, John W. and Jona- 
than T. — he settled in the valley of the West Nodaway River in 
Montgomery County, which was attached to Union and Adams 
Counties for civil purposes. The population at this time had so in- 
creased that there were eighteen votes in the county, and political 
interest was on the increase. 

1853 — In April of this year an election was held at the house 
of A. G. Lowe (or where logs had been brought together for a 
house) and the returns were sent to Adams County. This election, 
which the writer believes was merely a caucus, was held in April. 
A regular election was held in August, 1853, at the home of John 
Harris, in the Dunn settlement, on the west side of the Nodaway 
River, a few miles north of Villisca. Eighteen votes were cast — 
twelve Democrat and six Whig. The political history of the county 
may be said to date from this meeting. 

During this year, Judge Baker, of Adams County, appointed 
Wells Sager Assessor of Montgomery County. 

September 13, a township election was held at the home of 
John Harris, to elect three township trustees and one clerk, the 
entire county being a single township. 

October 8. S. C. Dunn appointed Clerk of the District Court of 
Montgomery County, term to expire August 1855. 

October 14. John W. Patterson appointed Treasurer and Re- 
corder until August 1854. 

December 30. Warrant No. 1: Wells Sager allowed $5.50 for 
services as Assessor of Montgomery County for the year 1853. 

Warrant No. 2: Allowed A. G. Lowe $9.40 for part of salary 
for year 1853. 

1854 — J. W. Patterson allowed $10.00 as part salary for Re- 
corder and Treasurer for the year 1853. Samuel Dunn, District 
Clerk, allowed $10.00 as part of salary for year 1853. 

The Treasurer and the Assessor, as a Board of Equalization 
of Assessment, made the following list of valuations for the guid- 
ance of the Assessor: Land, $1.50 to $2.50 per acre; horses, $20.00 
to $75.00 per head; oxen, $50.00 to $100.00 per head; all other cat- 
tle, $10.00 to $40.00 per head. All other property as the Assessor 
may think reasonable and just. 

June 1854, G. D. Connally appointed Assessor, to fill vacancy of 
J. T. Patterson, resigned. 

July, 1854. Two townships designated Jackson and West. 
Election for West Township held at the house of James Shank on 
first Monday of August for election of Township officers. At this 
election there were eight voters, six Democrats and two Whigs, 
as follows: Daniel Stennett and son, Wayne Stennett; James 
Shank and son; G. A. Gordon, Joseph Zuber, Stephen Lane and 
one other — name not known. Wayne Stennett cast the only vote 
for the Maine liquor law — a measure restricting the sale of liquor. 
G. A. Gordon remarked when the result of the election was an- 
nounced that he did not think there was a man among them fool 
enough to cast such a vote. The election was held in a log cabin 
near the old railroad depot. 



CHRONOLOGY 323 

Equalization board reported as follows: 

For State Tax One and one-fourth mills. 

For County Tax Six mills. 

For School Tax One and one-half mills. 

For Road Poll $2.00 

"The commissioners appointed by the Judge of the 6th Judicial 
District for the purpose of locating the seat of justice of Montgom- 
ery Countj^ have this day filed their report and have located the 
said seat of justice on the Southwest Quarter of Section No. Sev- 
enteen in Township No. Seventy-two North of Range Thirty-seven 
West. Given under our hands this 2 2nd day of July, 1854. Com- 
missioners: Wm. S. Townsend, R. W. Stafford, R. B. Lockwood." 
Ordered that the above location be accepted and approved by 
the Court and that the said commissioners be allowed the sum of 
twelve dollars each for services rendered in locating said seat of 
justice. 

November 13. Ordered that the seat of justice of Montgomery 
County be called Frankfort. 

Ordered that A. G. Lowe be entitled to the sum of $40.60 for 
his services as County Judge for the year 1853 up to August 1854. 
At this time there were the following political parties: The 
"Know Nothing" party, the "Silver Grays," the "Seward Whigs," 
the "Hunkers" and the "Barn Burners." The Democratic party 
this year met its first defeat. 

G. D. Connally allowed $13.50 for services as Assessor for the 
year 1854. Wells Sager allowed $3.00 for services as Constable at 
April election, 1854. 

1855 — First marriage license issued January 20th to Samuel 
McNaley and Martha Elizabeth Donoho. 

John Gilmore allowed $20.00 for services as Treasurer and 
Recorder. Samuel Dunn allowed $25.00 for services as Clerk of 
Court. Samuel Riggs allowed $2.50 for "transporting laws" for 
Montgomery County. 

George W. Thompson appointed Treasurer and Recorder of 
Montgomery County. 

R. M. G. Patterson settles with County Judge, the following 
being a copy of the record: "This day we have accounting to- 
gether as County, Judge, Clerk of District Court, and Treasurer and 
Recorder, and find we have received the following fees, to-wit: 

A. G. Lowe, County Judge, $3.50; Samuel Dunn, Clerk, $6.65; 
G. W. Thompson, Recorder, $3.10. 

Ordered that the above fees be retained to each as a part of 
our several salaries for the year 1855." 

Daniel Stennett appointed Assessor of West Township and G. 
D. Connally of Jackson Township. This year, for the first time, 
the tax list was made up for the entire county. 

For the last half of the year, record is found of payment to 
those who assisted in laying out the town of Frankfort, for the 
ordinary business of the County Judge, and for the purchase of 
blank books, as follows: Shull & Braden, $49.50; James P. Luce, 
$274.40; Extras, $67.21. 

1856 — The business of 185 6 is largely in excess of that of the 
preceding year, owing to the great increase in the population. 

G. D. Connally allowed $17.50 for assessing Jackson Township; 
John Ross, for care of insane persons, $46.00; Isaac Bolt, for as- 
sessing Washington Township, $30.00; R. M. G. Patterson, salary 
as Prosecuting Attorney, 1855 and 1856, $20.00; G. W. Thompson, 
assessing Jackson Township, $25.50; Samuel Dunn, services as 
Clerk of District Court of 1855 and 1856, $67.12; W. J. Boydson, 



324 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

services as Prosecuting Attorney, $125.00. $70.00 allowed for 
building a bridge on county road at Wallingsford Steam Mill, on 
the Nodaway River. 

Recorder R. W. Rogers appointed to transcribe the record of 
deeds and mortgages. T. A. Petty appointed commissioner to sell 
county liquors. 

Township of Douglas created and first election held at the house 
of Benjamin Archer. All that portion of West Township east of 
Nishnabotna River to constitute Frankfort Township; first election 
held at the home of Amasa Bond. 

Formation of Republican party from disintegrating fragments 
of the Whig party and the Anti-Slavery Democrats. Democratic 
vote for James Buchanan, 58; Whig vote for John C. Fremont, 63; 
and for Millard Filmore, 17. 

License issued for marriage of George W. Anderson and Miss 
America Jane Finley. 

This year was noted for being dry until about the middle of 
August, when it became exceedingly wet and cold. About the 12th 
of August, there was a hard freeze, destroying the growing crops. 
What corn withstood the dry weather, reports C. H. Stennett, 
froze solid. 

1857 — A. G. Lowe received $600.00 out of the County Lot Fund 
as part payment on contract for building court house. Solomon 
Stout borrowed $5 41.00 out of the Lot Fund, to be paid when 
needed on completion of court house. Total cost of court house, 
$1,141.50. L. C. Cook allowed $15.00 for salary as Sheriff. 

August 3, Solomon Stout elected Treasurer and Recorder. Sep- 
tember 5, Solomon Stout neglecting to qualify as Treasurer and 
Recorder and R. W. Rogers failing to give bond, J. B. Packard was 
appointed and gave bond of $10,000 as Treasurer and $2,000 as 
Recorder. 

A. Milner appointed Commissioner to locate a county road, be- 
ginning at the town site of Bristol in Douglas Township; thence 
east, crossing the bridge near W. T. Reed's; thence east to the county 
line, intersecting the travel road from Quincy to Lewis. 

In October a contract was let to Hiram Atkinson to build a 
bridge (monthly payments) at Silkett's Mill. Contract price, $995.- 
00. Vacancy in office of Clerk of District Court caused by death 
of Amasa Bond, and John A. Smith appointed to fill unexpired term. 

At the October election, 74 ballots were cast for Treasurer and 
Recorder, of which Arm.stead Milner received 69 and J. B. Packard 
5. Sixty-five ballots were cast for Prosecuting Attorney, of which 
Thomas Davis had 55 and J. B. Packard 10. Seventy-one ballots 
were cast for County Surveyor, of which Wm. Dunn had 67 and 
Armstead Milner 4. For the office of Governor at same election, 
Ben M. Samuels (dem.) had 56 and Ralph P. Lowe had 69 votes. 
For Representative in State Legislature, J. M. Dews of Glenwood 
received 57 votes and Henry Brown 61. 

Bridge ordered built across the "Big Tarkio" on county road 
east of Frankfort. Charles Bolt received the contract, price being 
$225.00. S. C. Dunn allowed $75.00 for assessing Montgomery 
County. James Pollard allowed $13 7.80 for formulating transcript 
of original entries of Montgomery County. 

1858 — At election held on May 3d, there were 149 votes cast 
for office of County Superintendent of Schools, of which Wm. C. 
Means (Dem.) received 85 and W. H. M. Fishback (Rep.) 64. 
Edwin Adair received 97 votes for office of Clerk of the District 
Court and A. J. Glover 47. For Sheriff, L. C. Cook received 68 
votes, John M, Bolt 22 and R. W. Rogers 44. 



CHRONOLOGY 325 

At the election held June 28th, there were 40 votes cast for 
State Bank and 15 against State Bank. For the General Banking 
Law there were 18 votes; against, 34 votes. 

At the October election, the parties were nearly evenly divided. 
For Auditor of State, J. W. Cattell (Rep.) received 85 votes, and 
Theodore Parvin (Dem.) 82. For Representative in Congress, Sam- 
uel R. Curtice (Rep.) received 86, and Henry M. Trumble (Dem.) 
82 votes. For Judge of the Third Judicial District, E. H. Sears 
(Rep.) received 81 and J. M. Dews (Dem.) 85 votes. For District 
Attorney, Samuel Forey (Rep.) received 83, and R. B. Parrott 
(Dem.) 84 votes. For Clerk of Court, Edwin Adair received 85 
and J. N. Childs 79. 

During this year, J. R. Horton was appointed Deputy Clerk 
of the District Court. 

From the court record, the following is gleaned in reference 
to bounty paid for wildcats and prairie wolves: "Now comes John 
Hazelgrove and on his oath says: That he verily believes that he 
was the cause of the death of a prairie wolf, the scalp of which 
he has here presented, and that he caused the death of said wolf 
within ten days past, and that said scalp has not been presented 
to any other person or place for the purpose of obtaining a bounty 
and that said wolf was killed within this county." 

The form varied somewhat to correspond with the mode of 
death — whether by poison, gun or trap. The bounty paid was $1.50 
and not a few citizens, including county officials, at odd times en- 
gaged in a hunt in order to increase their revenue. 

Samuel Riggs allowed $8.43 for locating state road through 
county. Sheriff L. C. Cook allowed $9.50 for six months' salary 
and one cord of wood furnished court house. 

August 20th of this year was noted for being very cold and dark. 
Mr. L. N. Harding remembers that men resorted to overcoats, mit- 
tens and boots to keep comfortable at their work. 

1859 — Allowances made as follows: B. F. Runnells, for build- 
ing a bridge across Walnut Creek, $85.00, the county retaining that 
amount out of the bridge fund of West Township; Wm. Dunn, for 
services in selecting swamp land and for locating state and county 
roads, 117.00; Mr. Hills, for transcript of original entries in Mont- 
gomery County made in 1858, $15.00. L. Raguet, publisher "Corn- 
ing Sentinel," for printing poll books and proclamation of election, 
$8.00. Allowance made to David Ellison for surveying county road 
from Silkett's Mill, westwardly. Allowance made to H. S. Harlow 
for crying sale of lots in Frankfort. 

At the October election, S. J. Kirkwood (Rep.) received over 
A. C. Dodge (Dem.) a majority of 10; J. A. Harvey (Rep.) over W, 
English (Dem.) for State Senator by a majority of 13; Washington 
Darlin over J. C. Sharp by a majority of 12. For County Judge, 
J. R. Horton (Rep.) received 136 votes, and W. C. Means (Dem.) 
99 votes. For Treasurer and Recorder, Jf. B. Packard (Rep.) re- 
ceived 143 votes and I. N. Applegate (Dem.) 93 votes. "Shall 
swine and sheep run at large?" carried by a majority of 69. For 
bridge tax, 46 votes; against bridge tax, 146 votes. 

SECOND DECADE — 1860-1870. 

1860 — January 17. Contract made with Chas. Bolt to build a 
bridge across the Nishnabotna at Red Oak for $1,298, of which 
amount the county paid $646 and the balance was contributed by 
citizens. 

February. Boundaries of Washington and Jackson Townships 
changed. 



326 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

Allowances made as follows: D. Ellison, attorney fee for pro- 
secuting case of State vs. Millslagle, defendant charged with mur- 
der, $25.00; J. J. Barnard, jailor of Fremont County, for keeping 
Millslagle and Clark prisoners, $132.20; R. B. Parrott, District 
Attorney, for prosecuting Millslagle, $10.00; Western Stage Co., 
for transporting box of books from Chariton to Frankfort, $3.00; 
L. Raguet, for printing tax list of 1860, $260.00; Wm. Focht, for 
assessing Douglas Township, $12.00; John Shafer, for assessing 
Frankfort Township, $10.00; E. Adair, for salary as Clerk to May 
1860, $67.40. S. G. Snutte appointed to examine county records. 
Settlement made with R. W. Rogers, Ex-County TreasitVer and Re- 
corder, who went out of office in August, 1857, "but," says the 
record, "who could not be induced by persuasion to settle until the 
17th day of May, 1860." When settlement was finally made, it 
was discovered that he was short in his accounts $326.00, which 
amount he secured by note and mortgage. 

1861 — At the first regular meeting of the County Board of 
Supervisors of Montgomery County, according to the statute of the 
Eighth General Assembly, the following townships were repre- 
sented: Daniel Stennett, Frankfort; S. S. Purcell, Ded Oak; Thos. 
Moore, Jackson; Isaac Conner, Washington; James M. Christopher, 
Douglas; Wm. A. Mahon, West. D. C. Powell, Clerk of the District 
Court, was also in attendance. Business transacted was as follows: 
The Board, drawing by lot for the terms of its members, selected 
a Chairman and approved Clerk's bond. There was found to be on 
hand about thirty notes due the county, ranging in amounts from 
$3.25 to $185.00; also eleven mortgages ranging from $50.00 to 
$250.00 for swamp lands sold by the county; also twenty-seven mort- 
gages given to secure county loans of the school fund; the books of 
the County Judge, a book containing a record of swamp lands, and 
a package of bonds and miscellaneous papers. Twelve citizens 
petitioned that Solomon Stout be granted license to sell spiritous 
liquors according to law. Board respectfully requests Clerk to 
cause to be collected the delinquent school fund and "to make as 
little distress as possible in so doing." Committee selected to 
settle with the Treasurer — Daniel Stennett and Isaac Conner. Al- 
lowance for assessing Frankfort Township, $4 0.00. Isaac Hunt 
and S. G. Smith allowed $30.00 each for assessing West and Red 
Oak Townships. "Revision of Code of 18 60" purchased for each 
member of the Board. Boundaries of Frankfort changed and en- 
larged, and the county laid out into six civil townships for the pur- 
pose of draining swamp lands, with the usual tax levy. The foliow- 
ing resolutions were adopted: "Resolved, that the question to be 
submitted to the electors of the county at the next regular election 
appropriating $800.00 to build a bridge across the Nishnabotna 
River at or near Silkett's Mill in Township 72 Range 38; also a 
sum not exceeding $3,000.00 to build a court house in Frankfort. 
All of the above appropriations to be paid out of the swamp land 
fund." Daniel Stennett authorized to improA'e or sell "Castle Mont- 
gomery" as his discretion. R. D. Sperry charged $3.00 rent for a 
part of the "Castle." 

1862— Wm. A. Mahon, failing to qualify as a member of the 
Board of Supervisors, was, upon recommendation of the trustees, 
duly appointed. 

April 2. Meeting of Board. I. N. Applegate, J. M. Christopher, 
Wm. Dunn, Perry Carr and S. S. Purcell met for the transaction 
of business. S. S. Purcell elected chairman. Treasurer reports 
taxes collected from September 186 2. The Clerk, D. C. Powell, 
instructed to use diligence in collecting school fund interest and 



CHRONOLOGY 327 

in renewal of notes to the school fund. Solomon Stout allowed 
$75.00 for removing a county pauper to New York. One dozen 
chairs purchased for use of court at next session. C. H. Lane al- 
lowed $10.00 or assessing Red Oak Township. P. P. Johnson ap- 
pointed member of Board in place of Daniel Stennett, resigned. 
Ordered that a vote be taken for and against swine running at 
large. D. C. Powell allowed $111.81 for services to Oct. 1, 1862. 

Monday, December 1, Board canvassed the vote of the volunteers 
in the army from the county, cast at October election, 1862. W. W. 
Merritt elected unanimously for Clerk of the District Court. Chas. 
Bolt elected or Sheriff, to succeed L. C. Cook. 

Appropriation made for necessities of Mrs. Wm. Cottell, the 
wife of a volunteer. 

1863 — April 9th, in accordance with a written request, the 
Board of Supervisors convened to take action concerning the sale 
of the swamp lands of the county to the American Emigrant Co. 
"Waldo Conner allowed $98.00 for fencing the public square of 
Frankfort. W. W. Merritt allowed the sum of $225.00, exclusive 
of fees, for salary. 

At this session, a petition was presented for the removal of 
the county seat. When the subject was under consideration, there 
was a well organized lobby and an exciting debate was indulged 
In by the members of the Board. At the June meeting, formal 
action was taken and an election was ordered, as more than one- 
half the electors had joined in a petition requesting the same. Red 
Oak Township cast 47 votes for and one vote against re-location 
of county seat. 

June 1. Report of committee appointed to settle with the 
Treasurer: 

Total amount of tax charged from 

1857 to June 1, 1863 $43,856.36 

Total amount collected $27,563.22 

Delinquent 16,293.14 

Paid out 23,512.05 

Balance $ 4,051.17 

Members of Board present: W. T. Reed, Douglas; L. C. Cook, 
Frankfort; I. N. Applegate, Jackson; Wm. Dunn, Washington; 
Isaac Hendrie, Red Oak; Stephen Glandon, West. W. W. Merritt, 
Clerk — also Surveyor by appointment. 

A killing frost occurred about August 20th and 21st. 
1864 — At the February meeting, two resolutions were introduced, 
the first for the expulsion of a member who declared he was a 
notorious rebel. After mutual recriminations, this resolution was 
laid over. The second, which was adopted, was as follows: "Re- 
solved that from and after February 1st, 1864, a bounty of $5.00 
per month be paid to the wife or widowed mother of the volunteers 
who have entered into the service of the United States as volun- 
teers prior to this time, and $5.00 to the recruit who may enlist to 
fill up the present call for volunteers, if said volunteer be a young 
man without anyone depending upon him or support. $5.00 per 
month to wife or mother who may be dependant upon him for sup- 
port and $1.00 per month for each child of recruit that is under 
twelve years of age, during the time said recruit or volunteer is 
in the United States' service. Said pay to commence at the time 
the recruit is sworn into the service of the United States. On mo- 
tion, the Clerk is empowered to draw warrants on the County Treas- 
urer to pay bounty allowed to soldiers and their families, and the 



328 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

Treasurer is instructed to pay said warrants out of any county 
funds in his hands. 

Contract placed to build county bridge across the Nodaway on 
road from Quincy to Glenwood. 

1864 — June 3. Board settles with J. B. Packard, Treasurer. 
Clerk given charge of the public square and authoized to pay $5.00 
rent for use of same for year; said square to be for the use of the 
public except turning in loose stock. 

Board of canvassers reported the vote cast on the 8th of Novem- 
ber, as follows: Republicans received 144 votes; Democratic, 91. 
For Clerk of District Court, W. W. Merritt received 144 votes; 
J. M. Harlan. 88. 

1865 — County records and county officers moved to Red Oak 
Junction. First meeting of Board held in Masonic Hall; members 
as follows: W. G. Ewing, Chairman; J. R. Horton, George Hob- 
son, I. F. Hendrie, W. C. Means, William Dunn. Following resolu- 
tions were adopted: "Resolved that the bounty paid volunteers 
from the county under a resolution passed by the Board of Super- 
visors at their June meeting, 1864, be stopped after the first of 
June, 1865, and from all the volunteers who entered the service 
prior to the passage of said resolution and that the bounty be paid 
only to the volunteers who volunteered after the passage of said 
resolution and are credited to this county." W. W. Merritt's salary 
increased to $450, exclusive of all fees. For $5.00 David Cook 
licensed to run a ferry across the river at Red Oak until a passable 
bridge could be built, and allowed to charge for a four horse team 
and wagon, 75c; a two horse team and wagon, 50c; one horse and 
man, 25c; one yoke of oxen and man, 25c; loose horses and cattle, 
10c each; sheep and swine, 3c each; footman, 10c each. Contract 
to build bridge at same place was let to G. S. Swenson; price, $2,100. 
Bridges to be built at Harris Ford and Morton's Mill, across the 
West Nodaways, and at Silkett's Mill across the Nishnabotna, to 
be paid out of the swamp land fund when received. L. N, Harding 
appointed member of board in place of I. F. Hendrie, resigned. 

At general election in October, 241 votes cast on question: 
"Shall swine run at large," 155 for and 86 against measure. 
1866 — Wayne Stennett appointed to superintend building of bridge 
across the Nishnabotna River at the Old Keys' Mill, near Stennett. 
Bridge ordered built at Sciola and at Carr's Point, across Walnut 
Creek. $250.00 appropriated towards building bridge at Milford 
and $500.00 for bridge on road west of Villisca. Frank Street 
allowed $15.00 for list of original entries of land in county. L. N. 
Harding employed to repair court house when it should arrive at 
Red Oak. It was moved from Frankfort in winter of this year. 

District Clerk rented a room in his residence on south side of 
Red Oak Creek for Clerk's office and for place of meeting of Board 
of Supervisors at $5.00 per month and for year 1866 allowed $500 
salary. Office rent for Clerk increased from $5.00 to $8.50 per 
month from April 1st to July 1st. 

Final settlement with J. B. Packard, Treasurer, charged with 
$10,898.08; credit, $10,583.76; balance of $314.32 paid over. 

October 9th. At general election, Republicans gave Gen. G. M. 
Dodge 216 votes; Democrats gave Gen. J. M. Tuttle 14 9 votes. For 
Clerk, W. W. Merritt received 184 votes; D. N. Cook 15 2 votes. 

1867 — At meeting of the Board, April 11th, there was a general 
change of boundaries of townships shown on pages 330 and 331 of 
the Supervisors' record. Members present: W. G. Ewing, West 
Township; W. Stennett, Frankfort; J. T. Martin, Douglas; F. J, 
Farlin, Washington; Charles Bolt, Red Oak. The Board, with their 



CHRONOLOGY 329 

attorneys, Beeson and Simons and their cleric, proceeded to adjust 
matters in controversy. On motion it was ordered that the county 
be not required to pay the 5 per cent collection fee of the attorneys 
on the collection of the A. J. Wallingsford note to the school fund 
of Montgomery County. April 12th, shows the following additional 
record: "Now at this time the Board has under consideration the 
subject of the proper security of the school fund. The following 
was spread upon the record: Ordered that the Clerk of the Board 
of Supervisors be instructed to deliver to Beeson & Simons all the 
school notes and mortgages given by non-residents, and due and 
unpaid principal and interest excepting such cases where residents 
have interests in the same, and further that the said Beeson and 
Simons ascertain the amounts of the notes and mortgages due the 
school fund from the citizens of this county and that they have 
access to the notes and mortgages and notify them and give them 
until the September term of the Board to arrange the payments of 
said notes." The foregoing was in the nature of a compromise 
after a heated controversy with the Clerk, who refused to acede 
to the demands of the attorneys, well knowing that there was no 
money in the county with which to pay the notes and, further, that 
he and his bondsmen were responsible for their safe keeping. 
Every interested party was at the meeting and naturally sustained 
the Clerk in his action. The above compromise was finally agreed 
upon. 

$400.00, balance of unappropriated swamp land fund, was ap- 
plied in payment of bridge at Keys' Mill, near the present village 
of Stennett, after having provided for bridge at Milford costing 
$550.00 and one costing $700.00 across the Middle Nodaway one- 
half mile south of Villisca. Paid $231.50 to the "Glenwood Opin- 
ion" for publishing the delinquent tax list. J. B. Packard ap- 
pointed by Board to confer with land holders in the county, to pro- 
cure, if possible, the right of way for the B. & M. R. R. Co. 

Board of Canvassers of the vote of the election of October 8th 
reported 261 votes for Samuel Merrill, Republican candidate for 
Governor, and 188 votes for Charles Mason, Democrat. For County 
Treasurer, T. J. Farlin received 199 votes and Wayne Stennett, 
Democrat, 237. For Representative in State Legislature, (District 
of Cass, Adair and Montgomery Counties) G. F. Kilburn of Adair 
County, (Rep.) received 255 votes and J. W. Brown of Cass, 199. 
E. H. Burris of Cass elected Superintendent of Schools. E. P. 
Milner elected County Surveyor. Wayne Stennett and W. G. Ewing 
appointed to assist in settlement with J. B. Packard, Treasurer. 

1868 — Mar. 28. First issue of the Montgomery Co. "Express." 

Ordered that Section 16 of Frankfort and Red Oak Townships 
be divided and appraised according to law. New township named 
Grant set off from contigous territory. Lincoln and Sherman Town- 
ships formed and named. Ordered that the practice of using wood 
belonging to the county for any other purpose than the use of the 
county be condemned in strong terms. Just who this notice was 
intended for is not known and the record is silent. Board examined 
school fund notes and they were found correct. Settlement with 
County Treasurer approved. County officers required to get their 
job printing done at the office of the Montgomery County Express, 
providing it could be done at prices already paid. Stock act of 
April 8th, 1868, to be submitted to the electors at the ensuing 
election. Ordered that the $1,356.00 bridge fund in the hands of 
County Treasurer be divided equally between the four bridges be- 
ing built and contemplated across the Nodaway. Wayne Stennett 
required to refund to J. B. Packard $1,000 overcharge by an error 



330 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

in the January settlement of 1868. Ordered to cancel all taxes 
on lands donated to aid in the construction of the B. & M. R. R. Co. 
Good & Richards allowed $60.00 for making map of County. C. E. 
Richards allowed $25.00 for surveying the school lands of Frank- 
fort Township. 

At election, R. M. Roberts received 360 votes for Clerk of 
Court and A. B. Ross 221. W. P. Wiley elected Recorder. Allen 
Beeson appointed County Judge to succeed W. G. Ewing, resigned. 

1869 — R. M. Roberts elected Clerk and Allen Beeson Auditor. 
Following persons were members of County Board during this 
year: G. A. Davis, Sherman Township; Chas. Hascall, West Town- 
ship; W. W. Merritt, Red Oak Township; J. H. Bowen, Grant Town- 
ship; S. C. Dunn, Washington Township; Joseph Carlile, Jackson 
Township; Jacob McCully, Douglas Township; John Bolt, Frankfort 
Township; P. P. Johnson, Lincoln Township. School sections divided 
into forty acre lots. Auditor instructed not to put the lands of the 
B. & M. R. R. Co. on tax list. $1,000 offered by the Board for the 
arrest and conviction of the murderer of James S. Duval, whose 
body was found southwest of Watson's Mill. Bounty of 10c each 
on gopher scalps. Board rescinded all previous action and ordered 
railroad lands to be listed for the years 1867-186S. C. E. Richards 
ordered to look after the legal aspect of the business of collecting. 
R. M. Roberts, Clerk, allowed $300.00 in addition to all fees. Change 
made in boundaries of Washington and Jackson Townships. 

In the election for Governor, Samuel Morrell, Republican, re- 
ceived 3 45 votes and George Gillaspie received 291 votes. R. M. 
Roberts, for Clerk, received 401 votes and J. C. Cooper 284 votes. 
B. E. A. Simons elected County Superintendent of Schools. Wayne 
Stennett received 3 53 votes for County Treasurer and C. G. George 
319. For the Stock Act, there were 191 votes; against, 187. 

According to the report of the County Auditor, the population of 
the county had increased from 1,256 in the year 1850 to 5,924 in 
the year 1870. 

THIRD DECADE— 1870-1880. 

1870 — The County joined with the town of Red Oak in building 
a calaboose and a jail; same to be 16x3 2 feet, with a partition in 
jail and an -fton cell in part owned by County. P. P. Johnson ap- 
pointed to purchase site and to attend to erection of building. 

Special session to settle with the B. & M. R. R. Co. in the matter 
of taxation. The Board resolved to settle on a basis of $3,000. A 
compromise was effected on a basis of $2,000 for the years 1867, 
1868 and 1869, D. N. Smith acting as agent for the R. R. Co. 

By resolution, the territory comprising the present Township 
of Scott, was named Stanton, being formed from a portion of Grant 
and Jackson Townships. The naihe Stanton Township does not 
again appear. It was subsequently named Scott for Alexander 
Scott, who gave a schoolhouse site. 

$7,000 in bonds were issued for the indebtedness of the County, 
running five years and drawing 10 per cent interest. A special tax 
of two mills for the year 1870 was assessed, for the purpose of pay- 
ing interest on these bonds. The 13th General Assembly abolished 
the old system of township representation on the Board, because 
it was "unnecessary" and unwieldy, and the number of members 
fixed at three. Ordered that at the next annual tax sale, the county's 
interests in town lots at Frankfort be sold under the new law of 
selling all property that had been offered for sale for two years 
and had passed for want of bidders. 



CHRONOLOGY 331 

At the election, 904 votes were cast — 616 Rep. and 288 Dem. 
For Congress, F. W. Palmer received 609 votes; B. F. Montgomery 
received 296 votes. J. W. McDill, candidate for Judge of Third 
Judicial District, elected without opposition. For District Attorney, 
Smith McPherson received 618 votes and W. W. Horseman 181. 
R. M. Roberts for Clerk, received 650 votes and had no opposition. 
1871 — The names of J. F. Patterson, J. M. Hewitt and A. M. 
Powell appear as members of the Board, with J. M. Hewitt as Chair- 
man. Refusal of Board to convey any more swamp lands because 
of an unlawful contract heretofore entering into it. Allen Beeson, 
Lamb and Willis employed to defend the interests of the County. 
A. M. Wright appointed Supt. of Schools in place of B. E. A Simons, 
resigned. 

At June meeting of the Board, J. M. Hewitt was appointed "to 
lease ground on which to remove the court house from its present 
situation to such ground and to have the same repaired; and that 
the contract with H. H. Chamberlin for the use of 2nd story of the 
building he is now erecting on the N. W. corner of the public 
square in Red Oak, Iowa, for five years for clerk's office and court 
room." 

The result of the election shows that C. C. Carpenter, Rep., for 
Governor, received 781 votes and J. C. Knopp, Dem., 455. For State 
Senator, J. Y. Stone, received 517 votes and Wayne Stennett 680. 
For restraining stock from running at large the vote was 221 for and 
745 against. Same in regard to swine, 682 for and 237 against. 

1872 — J. M. Hewitt, A. M. Powell, and J. R. Morton, members of 
the Board. J. R. Stratton, Auditor, J. T. Martin, Sheriff, W. P. 
Wiley, Treasurer. T. B. Draper employed to prospect for coal, 
specimens having been presented from the Whipple Quarry. W. P. 
Wiley resigns as Recorder. J. M. Hewitt chairman of the Board, 
instructed to go to Des Moines in company with Frank Davis, an 
attorney, to make a personal demand upon the American Em- 
igrant Co. for the relinquishment of claims upon indemnity lands 
and to settle between the county and said company and to receive 
all money due the county. Allen Beeson and Z. T. Fisher employed 
to defend the county in suit of B. & M. Town Lot Co. 

Election of Nov. 5th, 1872: 1440 ballots cast, of which 987 
were Republican and 453 Democratic. R. M. Roberts elected Clerk 
without opposition. 

1873 — L. C. Cook, aged forty-four years, an old citizen and form- 
er sheriff of Montgomery County, died at his residence in Pilot 
Grove. 

At the annual election, 1,281 votes were cast of which 867 
were Republican and 414 Democratic. Henry Howard elected 
Auditor, J. T. Martin, Sheriff, W. P. Patterson, Supt. of Schools. 

1874 — G. P. Ingman of Villisca chosen member of Board in place 
of John Buckingham, resigned. Forest trees and orchards ordered 
exempt from taxation. 

H. H. Palmer elected Clerk Court; W. B. Kennedy, Recorder; 
G. W. Bennett, Surveyor. The restraining of stock from running 
at large finally carried. 

Jan. 18. — Dedication of Congregational Church. Number tak- 
en into church, sixteen. Rev. DeForest preached the sermon. 

June 29. Mrs. Sarah Patterson, wife of Chas. E. Patterson, 
killed at a railroad crossing. 

Updike & Ler contract to build a Catholic Church, 26 by 36 ft, 
to be frame and to cost $1500. 

1875— W. Stafford appears as member of Board. Contract for 
building an iron bridge across the Nodaway south of Villisca let 



332 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

to Frary & Donnell for $1600. Old Court House sold to R. Wads- 
worth for $200. 

Early in June, grasshoppers appeared in clounds and did great 
damage to crops. They came on Sunday, literally covering the 
ground and consuming every green thing, and remained until 
Tuesday. 

September. — Mayne and McPherson appointed to sell swamp 
land heretofore certified to the county, being in Monona and Craw- 
ford Counties, and the counties interested in lands of whatsoever 
kinds. 

Alfred Hebard elected State Senator, giving him 669 majority 
over W. W. Morseman. T. C. Lunday elected Treas. A majority in 
favor of restraining stock from running at large. For buying a poor 
farm, 770 votes; against buying, 594. Mayne & McPherson in- 
structed to collect all claims due county excepting school fund notes. 

1876. — Members of Board, W. Stafford, Samuel Ewing and F. 
G. Bean. Henry Howard, Auditor. Board recommended the en- 
forcement of the Vagrancy Act of the 16th General Assembly. 

Sept. 17. — Dedication of M. E. Church at Red Oak, Bishop Fos- 
ter officiating. Sept. 28. The Session of the Des Moines Confer- 
ence of the M. E. Church convened in Red Oak. 

1877 — County officials same as in 1876. As per decision of 
the Supreme Court of Iowa, the Board orders sale of county swamp 
lands. 

Feb. 4. — Death of Thos. Rogers, a prominent lumber merchant 
of Red Oak, at Indianapolis. May 9. Death of W. W. Hines, an 
old settler. While he was riding a corn planter, his team became 
frightened and threw him out, causing fatal injuries. He came to 
Montgomery Co. in 1854. P. H. Good, one of the oldest attorneys 
in the county, commits suicide. 

2164 votes for Representative, George Ashby 1134, John W. 
Patterson 475, G. Dennis, 553. H. G. McMillen elected sheriff. 

1878 — Supervisors F. G. Bean, Samuel Ewing and G. P. Ing- 
man. Public sale of swamp lands and school lands ordered; $854.- 
00 transferred from swamp land fund to county fund. 

July 3. Sudden death of Spanish Consul to Hong Kong, China, 
Seignior Fernando, while on train near Glenwood. His remains 
were interred in the Red Oak Catholic Cemetery, and later were 
removed to Spain. 

Sept. 8. Death of Mrs. J. B. Packard, aged 62 years. She 
came to county in 1857. Nov. 13. Death of Clarence Stennett, 
Wayne Stennett's 16 year old son, who accidentally shot himself. 

1879 — Jonas Heckert becomes member of Board. The Tele- 
phone, Record and Villisca Review awarded county printing. 
Amount of county bonded indebtedness $1700. New bonds issued 
at 7 per cent. 

June. District Conference of M. E. Church at Red Oak. 

July 4. Celebration in Red Oak. C. S. Ryman orator. 

Sept. 1. Red Oak Academy and Business College opened. 

Col. Hebard summoned to meet Jay Gould and Pres. Lewis of 
the St. Louis Short Line at Chicago, for conference. Election of 
directors of the Atlantic, Red Oak and St. Louis R. R. Those named 
for Red Oak were Alfred Hebard, Wayne Stennett and Edw. Mor- 
iarity. $5000 subscribed. 

Oct. 22. Three hundred guests celebrate the 25th anniver- 
sary of marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Fisher. 

Chaplain McCabe lectures on "The Bright Side of Life in Libby 
Prison." 



CHRONOLOGY 333 

At election, John H. Gear received 1530 votes for Governor; 
Daniel Campbell 818 and H. H. Trimble 333. Z. T. Fisher elected 
Representative. R. J. Edmonds Sheriff. 

1880 — Alfred Swanson appears as member of Board. O. A. 
Cramer appointed Deputy Auditor Board settles with Treasurer, 
J. V. Johnson. Allowance made by Board of $400 to prospect in 
coal at Villisca. 

June session: Report of Agricultural Society Qoncerning dis- 
position of money furnished by the State Appropriation of $600 
made from bridge fund to build road from Red Oak to County 
Fair grounds. Elwood Cleaver appointed Surveyor in place of 
Geo. W. Bennett, resigned. County rented rooms of A. McCon- 
nell for county offices for five years at $850 per year, with priv- 
ilege or renewal at $700 per year. 

October. C. C. Platter elected representative; O. P. Worsley, 
Auditor; Geo. M. West, Treas., Henry H. Palmer, Sheriff; John L. 
Thomas, Member of Board, E. Cleaver, Surveyor. 

1881 — Allen Beeson, an attorney and old citizen of Red Oak, 
forms partnership with Hon. Sam Chapman of Plattsmouth, Nebr. 

N. W. Cook relinquishes control of "The People's Telephone," 

May. Death of Auditor W. B. Kennedy. 

July. 4. Col. W. P. Hepburn, orator. 

August. First issue daily "Record." Lecture by Leigh Hunt 
on "Struggle for Place." 

September. Committee appointed to raise funds for Michigan 
sufferers of forest fires, — E. M. Carey, Pres., J. M. Junkin, Secy.; 
other members Wm. Clark, C. C. Platter and W. W. Merritt. 

1882 — O. P. Worsley appointed agent for sale of swamp and in- 
demnity lands, to collect amounts due. All indemnity swamp 
lands withdrawn from market. L. W. Williams takes charge of 
poor farm at $750 per year. W. S. Alger of Villisca appointed mem- 
ber of Board in place of Aired Swanson, deceased. T. H. Lee ap- 
pointed to collect delinquent personal tax. 

January. Meeting of Editorial Convention. Red Oak repre- 
sentatives, J. M. Killits, Express, George Stiger, Record and R. D. 
Sperry, Telephone. 

Febuary. Montgomery Co. transferred from the 8th to the 9th 
Cong. District. 

May. Gen. J. B. Weaver speaks in Red Oak on political issues. 

August. Death of O. P. Whittier, son of pioneer of county. 
Dr. J. B. Hatton nominated for Congress by People's Party. 

October. Hon. W. H. Pusey, Dem. candidate for Congress, 
spoke in Red Oak and Hon. James F. Wilson held a class meeting 
and Republican reunion. Murder of J. P. Bramhall by Bennett 
Hayden. 

At the general election, A. R. Anderson Rep. for Congress re- 
ceived 1202 votes. W. H. M. Pusey, Dem. received 674. J. B. 
Hatton, People's Party, 673 votes. W. E. Patterson chosen Clerk 
of Court. H. Pegram, Recorder. E. Kretchmer, member of Board. 
At special election in June, there were 1,83 2 votes for prohibition 
and 671 votes against. 

1883 — Rev. Joseph Cook lectures in the M. E. Church on the 
"Seven Wonders of the World." 

May. Enthusiastic meeting of citizens of Red Oak to take 
measures in favor of new diagonal railroad. The lumber business 
of Justus Clark and Co. sold to National Co. of Chicago. 

June. Justus Clark nominated by Democrats for Lieutenant 
Governor. 



334 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

July. Hon. L. G. Kinne, Democratic Candidate for Governor, 
spoke in public square of Red Oak. Gen. B. M. Prentice delivered 
his lecture on the "Battle of Shiloh" at court house, under the 
auspices of the G. A. R. of Red Oak. 

September. E. W. Stevens, of Red Oak, Independent candidate 
for Senator for Mills and Montgomery Counties. J. V. Johnson, 
Fusion Greenback and Dem. candidate for Representative elected 
over A. M. Waters, Rep. by 17 votes. O. P. Worsley elected over 
T. H. Lee (Dem.) by 11 votes. B. J. Austin, Treasurer; H. H. 
Palmer, Sheriff; J. A. McLean, Superintendent; C. M. Mills, Cor- 
oner; W. H. Parker, Member of Board. For Governor, B. R. Sher- 
man (Rep.) 1,695 votes; L. G. Kinne (Dem.) 911 votes, and J. B. 
Weaver (G. B.) 445 votes. For proposition to build court house, 
there were 285 votes; against, 2,201 votes. After the election, the 
Democrats and the Independents of Mongomery and Mills Counties 
held a jollification at Judkins House over their victory, banquet 
and speeches being the order of the evening. 

1884 — January. Members of Board, E. Kretchmer, J. L. Thomas, 
and W. H. Parker; T. H. Lee, Auditor. 

June. Attorney Gen. Smith McPherson aids in organizing the 
Prisoners' Aid Association of Iowa, for purpose of assisting ex- 
prisoners of penitentiary in finding honorable employment. 

July. Celebrations at Red Oak, Villisca, Milford, Emerson and 
Climax. Lieut. Gov. Manning spoke at Villisca. G. A. R. Post 
organized at Elliott. W. E. Patterson announces candidacy for Clerk. 

August^ J. S. Stidger retires after thirteen years' connection 
with the Red Oak Record. 

1885 — Members of Board, E. Kretchmer, J. L. Thomas and W. H. 
Parker. T. H. Lee, Auditor; B. J. Austin, Treasurer. Numerous 
transfers of land to citizens purchasing swamp land in Monona Co. 
Bounty on wolf scalps increased to $5.00 for wolves over one year 
old and $2.00 for those under one year. Following question sub- 
mitted to vote: "Shall the number of Supervisors be Increased from 
three to five?" For, 666 votes; against, 1,265 votes. 

January. At the World's Fair at New Orleans, Montgomery Co, 
took first premium on apples — Chas. Chickering for the best "Ro- 
man Beauties" and T. Ellett for best "Wagonor." Many cereals and 
vegetables, contributed for exhibition from about fifty counties of 
Iowa, were destroyed in a wreck on the way. 

May. 65th anniversary of Odd Fellowship celebrated in Red Oak. 

1886 — J. F. Moates, J. L. Thomas and W. H. Parker members 
of the Board; E. S. Rogers, Auditor. 

J. Ellen Foster lectures in Red Oak under auspices of W. C. T. U. 

April. Hayes Bros, exhibit a map of the territory of Iowa, made 
in 1845, at the time this part of the state was occupied by Potta- 
wattamie Indians. Dead body of Brewer Steinbrecher found hang- 
ing in brewery. He claimed prohibition law damaged him $32,000. 

May. Convention of school superintendents of ten southern 
counties in Red Oak. Address by State Superintendent Akers. 
Daniel Stennett, an early pioneer, dies at age of 8 2. He was a 
staunch democrat and, at one time, a member of the Board. 

June. S. W. Iowa Press Association met at Red Oak. C. W. 
Snyder of the Express elected Pres. ; C. A. Lisle, Clarinda, Treas. 
and A. G. Lucas, Bedford, Sec. Death of Wm. Hall, an influential 
citizen, aged 71. 

July. H. E. Deemer nominated at Council Bluffs for Judge of 
District and Circuit Courts. Fourth celebrated at Villisca, Climax, 
Morton's Mill and Stanton. 



CHRONOLOGY 335 

August. P. B. Tracy dies in Red Oak. He was a familiar figure 
°* xl^TxJ^^^® ^°"*^® ^^°"^ Burlington to Council Bluffs, being Supt 
of the Western Stage Co. He built a shed on his farm west of town 
to preserve the old coaches which had to give way to the railway. 
One of them is now preserved in the Iowa Historical Building in 
pes Moines For years Mr. Tracy wore a coat made of buckskin 
to protect himself from the bleak winds to which he was exposed 
From this he received the name of "Buckskin Tracy." This coat 

r^^^.,? Ai^^i ^x?"" f-"". ^'^^'^'' ^^^^^^' P^t^^ Sarpy, and was donated 
to the Old Settlers' Ass'n of Sarpy Co., Neb., by H. W Otis the 
administrator of the Tracy estate. ' 

September. Dr. J. B. Hatton of Red Oak nominated for Con- 
gress by Greenback party. Shortly afterward he resigned his candi- 
dacy. First part of month smoke from the burning of prairie grass 
in Dakotas was so dense that nearby objects could hardly be seen 

November 16. Death of J. F. Fisher, Red Oak's most enter- 
prising citizen, aged 56. He came to Red Oak in 1870 The Vil- 
hsca Review said: "It seems hard to realize that the busy, bustling 
cheerful, big hearted Joe Fisher is gone." 

1887— H. H. Palmer, Sheriff; Dr. H. A. McFatrich, Co. Physician 

January. Memorial meeting of Garfield Post, No. 57, at the m' 
bu Church to do honor to the memory of Gen. John A. Logan. Ad- 
dresses by B.S. Porter, Joel Carey, G. W. Holt, James B. Gregg, 
S?^.^- ^?''l%^- W.. Snyder and Dr. J. B. Hatton. Organization of 
^ if J ^^W'^''^.'"' Lincoln Township. Henry Thomas, Pres.; 

M.^.h th' ^.'."n-^'^'i ^^ ^- ^^^^^' S^^- B. F. Owens, Treas. 

March. The Villisca Review presents a picture of what is 
;?,?"?•. to be the oldest house now standing in the county," and 
which It calls the Pioneer Palace. This was a log structure erected 
in 1854 on the old Robt. Dunn farm, north of Villisca 
Povttv^i^".^ . Swedish Lutheran pastor, O. J. B. Osterholm died. 
Porter s Cart and Buggy factory building and contents burned 
fv,^^f/'f i;?^^"f entertainment of grown-up people reproducing 
the old fashioned method of teaching school 

i^^^'ry^\^l ^?® appointed Deputy U. S. Revenue Collector. 
New Baptist Church at Red Oak in process of construction 
September. Miss Anna Morrell came to her death in a railroad 

To.'^-T^ ""^^^t^^Tr ^'- ^- ^- Hartman commits suicide by taking 
aconite. Death of Justus Clark. ^ 

December. The Red Oak Bldg. & Sav. Ass'n organized, with F. 
H. Keyes Pres ; G. Dennis, Vice Pres. and M. N. Spencer Sec. An- 
n^^ ^'nTx ""^T,"^ the Western Iowa Horticultural Society in Red Oak 
Dec 20th. Banquet to society given by citizens at Johnson House 
Intelligence from hospital at Chicago of death of T. H Alexander 
fn^/hf n^«^ citizen of Red Oak. During the war he did good work 
in the U. S. Secret Service. 

1888— E. S. Rogers, Auditor. Contract let for building river 
bridge at Stover's Mill, south of town. Soldiers' Relief Commission, 
as provided by state law, organized with Capt. W. W. Ellis of Vil- 
lisca H. E. Manker, Elliott, and Joel Carey, Red Oak, as officers 
1 .. .f^"^^^- baptist church dedicated; cost, $6,351. Rev Bart- 
lett delivered sermon. 

Redwald the celebrated trotting horse, purchased of estate of 
Thomas Potter by twenty business men and farmers for $5 000 
July. Celebration of Fourth, with B. F. Clayton as orktor.' 
August. Loss by fire at Stanton, estimated at $40 000 
September. Bruce Commandery Band, Red Oak Fire Department 
t , >.•. '^.a^^iueted by citizens, in honor of prizes taken at Ne- 
braska City August 30th. 



336 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

1889 — C. H. Wilson employed to superintend the building of 
county bridges at a salary of $1,000 per year. There were twenty- 
four iron bridges in the county at that time. Formal settlement 
made with F. M. Davis and Mayne & McPherson for services as 
agents and attorneys in swamp land case of Montgomery Co. vs, 
American Emigrant Co. J. F. Moates and R. W. Beeson, Co. Attor- 
ney, appointed a committee to confer with the Board of Pottawat- 
tamie Co. in reference to costs in the trial of State of Iowa vs. Dr. 
Cross. Sum of 1,131.82 received from State Treasurer on Swamp 
Lands indemnity account. Petition of 800 citizens that the propo- 
sition to build a court house be submitted to a vote. June 8th was 
set to determine the form of submission. Submitted amount, $75,- 
000, and tax to be two mills on dollar. There was a spirited contest, 
some townships going against the proposition. 2,770 votes cast, 
1,430 for and 1,340 against. 

W. W. Montgomery appointed Supt. of Schools, J. F. Saylor hav- 
ing resigned. Organization of Red Oak Board of Trade, with fol- 
lowing officers: John Hayes, Pres. ; M. E. Fisher, Vice Pres. ; E. M. 
Carey, Second Vice Pres.; P. P. Clark, Treas.; O. P. Worsley, Sec. 

March. Project discussed of organizing six or eight Southwestern 
Iowa counties for purpose of calling attention of the country to the 
fact that Southwestern Iowa would rival the blue grass region of 
Kentucky as a stock raising country. Money was raised to en- 
courage immigration by excursions or otherwise. Hon. J. B. Harsh 
of Creston was elected Pres. and Gen. Ellis of Villisca Sec. By-laws 
were adopted and various committees appointed. 

June. Rev. E. M. Holmes, a former Red Oak boy, elected Pres. 
of Simpson College. 

August. The Iowa National Guard, composed of eight com- 
panies from different parts of Southern Iowa, comprising the Fifth 
Regiment, encamped in Red Oak for a week and were reviewed by 
Gov. Larrabee. Proposition of the city of Red Oak to grant fran- 
chise for the purpose of furnishing electric light voted upon, carried. 

FOURTH DECADE — 1890-1900. 

1890 — January. Members of Board, Stratton and Moates, mem- 
ber elect, M. F. Dilley. E. S. Rogers, Auditor. Contract for build- 
ing court house accorded to Richards & Co., of Omaha for $69,200. 

February. Annual meeting of the Red Oak Board of Trade. 
Address by Pres. John Hayes. New officers elected, B. B. Clark, 
Pres. and G. Blackstone, Sec. 

April. Annual meeting of the Council Bluffs Presbytery in Red 
Oak; 51 churches and 15 counties in the association. 

May. Union of Farmers' Alliances in the county and officers 
elected; R. N. Withrow, of West Township, Pres. 

The case of Newcomb vs. Montgomery Co. taken to Fremont Co. 
on change of venue. This was a case for personal injuries sus- 
tained by Mrs. Martha Newcomb by a defective approach to the 
bridge near Watson's Mill. Plaintiff awarded $3,000 damages. 

July. John Hayes gives reception in honor of Gov, Horace Boies, 
who was present at the laying of the corner stone of the court 
house July 4th. July 7th hottest day ever experienced, thermometer 
registering from 98 to 104 degrees in the shade. 

1891. — J. F. Moates, C. L. Stratton and M. F. Dilley members of 
Board. J. C. Masteller appointed Deputy Recorder, 

October. Stevens Elevator destroyed by fire. Streets of Red 
Oak first lighted by electricity. 

1892 — H. A. Embree becomes member of the Board. 

January, Agitation in favor of paving streets of Red Oak. 



CHRONOLOGY 337 

March. Dedication of new court house. 
June. City Roller Mills consumed by fire. 

September. Organization of Young Peoples' Lecture Association 
at Red Oak. 

1893 — Members of Board — Dilley, Stratton and Embrje. P. W. 
Peterson, Auditor. 

February. Death of A. G. Low, a resident of the county since 
1852, at his home near Stennett. He was the first county Judge, 
and first political meeting held in county was held in his home. 

May. A delegate convention of the Church of Christ, embrac- 
ing Southwestern Iowa, held at Red Oak. 

July. Anniversary of the establishment of Methodism In the 
county and in Red Oak. Revs. Samuel Farlow and J. T. Hughes 
pioneer circuit riders, delivered reminiscent addresses. 

September. Large gathering of Swedish people from this and ad- 
joining counties at Binns' Grove. Addresses made by Rev. B. M. 
Kalland, Prof. Olaf Oleson, Pres. Augustana College, and Gustave 
Sjastrom of Chicago. 

November. Henry Watterson of the Louisville Courier Journal, 
lectured in Red Oak. Topic, "Money and Morals." 

December. Standard Trotting Horse Co. of Muscatine transfer 
to Morris J. Jones of Red Oak ownership of world's champion trot- 
ter, "Alix." Banquet given Mr. Jones in honor of arrival of this 
celebrated trotting mare. 

1894 — New members of Board, J. Beeson and George T. Cooper. 

April. Judge H. E. Deemer appointed by Governor sixth mem- 
ber of the Supreme Court. 1,400 of Kelley's Army (part of what 
was known as Coxey's Army) marched through the county. Red 
Oak refuses to feed them. To preserve the peace. Gov. Jackson tele- 
graphs Capt. Clark to take Co. M to Council Bluffs, and Col. Mount 
is given command of companies belonging to the National Guard 
from Creston, Corning, Villisca and Glenwood. 

1895 — Members of Board, J. Beeson, G. T. Cooper and H. A. Em- 
bree. J. C. Mastellar appointed to fill vacancy caused by the death 
of P. W. Peterson, Auditor, and A. M. Lull appointed Deputy Re- 
corder at the June meeting of the Board. Seventy new structures 
erected in Red Oak in the year 1895 at a cost of $105,000.00, 

1896 — Board same as last year, with J. S. Anderson, Auditor. 

January. $20,000.00 offered in purses for race meeting at Pacto- 
lus Park the coming June. 

April. The 25th anniversary of the Red Oak Public Sshools ob- 
served. Addresses by Col. Hebard, W. W. Merritt and Mrs. L. Grabil. 

July. Smith McPherson nominated for Congress. 

August. Annual encampment of the Iowa National Guard at 
Pactolus Park, with Col. Swalm of Oskaloosa and Lieut. Col. Loper 
of Des Moines. Regiment reviewed by Gov. Drake. 

September. Death of A. Hebard at his old home in New London, 
Conn. Memorial services held at Congregational church following 
Sunday. Gen. John M. Palmer and S. D. Buckner, Candidates for 
President and Vice President, stop at Red Oak and make speeches. 
William J. Bryan, Candidate for President, makes speech at Pactolus 
Park. December 24, Co. M's new armory dedicated. 

1897 — January. Board same as previous year. Splendid show- 
ing of the Mutual Life of Iowa. Losses paid and dividends of 25 
per cent placed to the credit of policy holders. 

April. Banquet of States enjoyed by three hundred guests. 
People from the various states seated at separate tables with an 
orator for each proclaiming the virtues of his native state. 



338 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

June. Old log house, once the residence of the author, at 
Frankfort, and afterwards removed to Red Oak on south side of 
Red Oak Creek near Fourth street, torn down. 

July. Great flood does damage in Red Oak. Streets like rivers. 

August. Account printed of thrilling experience of Mrs. C. E. 
Richards on wrecked steamer "Mexico" off the coast of Alaska. 
Twenty hours in open boat. 

December. Death at the Poor Farm of William T. Reid, a 
pioneer preacher and the first County Superintendent. The claim 
has been made that Carl Means was the first Superintendent, but 
there is no record of his having filled the office. 

1898 — Red Oak Express celebrates its thirtieth birthday, com- 
ing out as a twenty-four page paper. Election ordered concerning 
the building of a jail; carried, and contract let to build jail and 
sheriff's residence to cost $11,870. 

February. Red Oak Fire Department occupies its new building. 
James Dunn, who came to this country in 18-55 and settled in 
Washington Township, dies at his home. 

April 26. Four or five thousand people assembled at the depot 
at 8:00 o'clock a. m. to bid farewell to Co. M. which left on a special 
train for Des Moines at the command of the War Department. Co. 
B of Villisca also ordered out, commanded by its Second Lieutenant. 
Capt. S. B. Moore promoted to position as Major of the Regiment. 

May. New Temple I. O. O. F. completed and interesting exercises 
held, principal address being by C. W. Lewis of Ottumwa. 

June 5. Company M off for San Francisco. 

July. Fierce wind storm visits county. Two persons killed and 
many injured by cyclone in Garfield Township. 

October. Solid silver cup won by Co. M Oct. 25th, in competa- 
tive drill at San Francisco and forwarded to Red Oak for safekeeping. 

November 3. The "Pennsylvania" sails from San Francisco for 
Manila, with the Fifty-First Regiment on board. 

1899 — Members of Board, Cooper, Pogue and Peterson. 

January. Contract let to enlarge house on poor farm at cost 
of $4,950. 

New High School erected at cost of $17,000. Dedicated Jan. 10. 

February. The Osborne Calendar Co. began removal to Newark, 

April. Congressman McPherson speaks on life of Gen. Grant 
before the Grant Club at Des Moines. 

June. Admiral Schley passed through Red Oak and made address. 

October. Gen. Byers and party, including Rev. E. C. Moulton, 
of Red Oak, leave for San Francisco to meet the 51st Regiment upon 
return from campaign in Philippines. Meeting of the Grand Chapter 
of Royal Arch Masons at Red Oak. Large attendance of delegates 
and visitors. Escorted by Bruce Commandry K. T. Response to 
W. W. Merritt's address of welcome by Grand High Priest W. H. 
Cleveland of Harlan. Oct. 2 2 a telephone message was received 
from Des Moines announcing that the "Senator" with 51st Regi- 
ment on board had been sighted. Whistles and guns quickly an- 
nounced the glad tidings. Royal reception given Co. M upon their 
return to Red Oak. Ladies of the Monday Club entertained Mrs. 
Vietch of the Red Cross Society. 

November. Red Oak citizens give banquet to Company M at 
K. of P. hall. Nov. 20, death at the home of her daughter, Mrs. 
Samuel Davenport, in Frankfort, of Mrs. John H. Murray, a resid- 
ent of that place since 1857. 

1900 — Pogue, Peterson and Murphy members of Board. Com- 
mittee of Board appointed to attend meeting of Directors of State 
Agricultural Society. 



CHRONOLOGY 339 

February. Red Oak obtains light, heat and power from a cen- 
tral plant. 

April. Major Joseph Cramer, aged 87 years, a veteran of two 
wars, died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. C. W. Hendricks. 

June. Judge and Mrs. H. B. Deemer give reception to old mem- 
bers of Co. M. 

July. Mrs. Thomas Wheeler dies, having lived in the 18th, 19th 
and 20th Centuries. 

August. The 51st Regiment, I. N. G. encamped at Pactolus Park 
beginning Aug. 1. Camp christened "Walter Wagnor." Total num- 
ber in camp 580. Oldest house in Red Oak, the former home of 
L. N. Harding, torn down to make room for the Griffith Inn. 

September. Republican campaign opens in Red Oali. Speeches 
by Walter I. Smith and Senator J. P. Dolliver. Wooley, Metcalf, 
v. B. Gushing and other celebrated prohibitionists arrive at Red Oak 
on special train. Speeches made in public park. Special train from 
Red Oak to Plattsmouth to meet President Roosevelt. 

1901 — March. Dr. Rufus D. Sperry, one of the first practicing 
physicians in county, dies at home of son in Omaha, aged 81 years. 

April. State Conference of charities and corrections meets in 
Red Oak. Many prominent people in attendance. 

May. 2,000 men and teams at work between Red Oak and 
Creston on new double track railroad. 

June. The election for greater Red Oak carried by a small 
margin. F. G. Thiele murdered his wife in yillisca. D. B. Miller 
appointed as National Bank Examiner. 

August. Old settlers' reunion at Villisca. Postoffice in Red Oak 
moved to new quarters on Coolbaugh street. Ivan Ellwood ap- 
pointed Deputy County Auditor. 

Nov. A. B. Cummins received 1,898 votes for Governor, T. J. 
Phillips 776 and A. A. Coots 175. For Representative, C. L. Stratton 
(Rep.) received 1,959 votes and H. O. Bryson (Dem.) 806. R. M. 
Roberts elected Treasurer, Wm. Thomas Sheriff, Mabel G. Hanna 
County Superintendent, Henry Peterson, Member of Board, Ellwood 
Cleaver, Surveyor, Dr. S. R. Kriedler, Coroner. 

1902 — January. Methodist Church of Red Oak decides to erect 
a new structure on site of present building, at a cost of $40,000. 
Question of paving streets of Red Oak under discussion. Red Oak 
Canning Factory organized. 

March. Memorial service held at Armory in honor of Thos. 
Zuber, the son of an old pioneer and himself a member of Co. M of 
51st Iowa Regiment. Records in realty transactions broken, the 
aggregate amount being $500,000.00. Farmers' Institute organized. 
First contract for paving streets of Red Oak let to Magden and 
Sheeley of Des Moines. 

April 24. Red Oak visited by most disastrous fire in its history. 

May. Largest class in the history of Red Oak High School, nu- 
bering thirty, graduates. Street car service abandoned. 

June. New Swedish Mission Church dedicated. Death of Lean- 
der Sickman, a pioneer, at his home in Red Oak. Return of Will 
Mahaffy, ater three years' absence in military service in Philippines. 

August. Rev. B. M. Halland, founder of the Swedish Colony in 
Stanton and Scott Township, a clergyman of ability, died at his 
home in Stanton. 

September. Meeting of the 5th District Convention of the W. C. 
T. U. held in Red Oak. 

November. Ninth District Convention of Woman's Clubs at the 
I. O. O. F. temple. Visiting delegates royally entertained by the 
Monday Club. Death of Granville Dennis in his 83rd year from 



340 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

paralysis; he had been a leader in public enterprises. Wm. Christie 
appointed county surveyor as successor of Ellwood Cleaver, resigned. 
Proposition to vote a tax of one-half mill on the dollar to build a 
soldiers' monument, failed. For tax, 1,013; against tax, 1,592. 

1903 — January. Neighbors of L. N. Harding, one of the first 
settlers of Red Oak, celebrated his 80th birthday. $110,000 spent 
in erecting substantial business blocks in year 1902. 

March. Death of D. J. Ockerson, an old soldier and settler — at 
one time a candidate for Auditor of State. 

April. Examination of eleven candidates for Naval Academy 
by direction of Congressman Walter I. Smith. C. W. Allen of 
Atlantic appointed, with Robt. Dunn of Villisca as alternate. Ma- 
sonic lodge of Red Oak gives banquet in honor of Moses Chandler 
on the occasion of his 85th birthday. Resolve Palmer, son of H. H. 
Palmer, passes successful examination for Lieut, in Regular Army. 

May. A large and enthusiastic meeting of Odd Fellows and 
Rebeccas takes place at Elliott. Dr. F. M. Powell, Supt. of Glen- 
wood Institute for Feeble Minded, buys the Sanitarium, to take 
possession July 1st. Dedication of new St. Mary's Catholic Church. 
In the mass ceremonies. Father Bulger of Shenandoah acts as 
celebratant. Father J. T. Noonan of Lenox as Deacon, and Father 
Quinn of Red Oak Sub-Deacon. Dedicatory sermon preached by 
Father Noonan. 

July. Judge McPherson delivers an address before the State 
Bar Assiciation of Colorado which is favorably and widely commented 
upon. James Hunter, an old resident, dies at his home in Red Oak 
at age of 83 years. 500 people gather at site of new Methodist 
Church to witness laying of corner stone. Address made by Rev. 
T. C. Iliff of Colorado. 

November. Fifty blocks of pavement in Red Oak completed and 
two miles of cement sidewalk put down during the past summer. 
Dr. T. A. Trulson dies at his home in Stanton. 

December. $20,000.00 invested in Hotel Johnson for improve- 
ments, making it the finest hotel in Southwestern Iowa. 200 citizens 
of Red Oak present at its opening. J. V. Johnson, former resident 
of Montgomery Co., Ex-County Treasurer and Member of Legislature, 
dies at his home in Ord, Neb. D. D. Saunders, an old resident dies 
in Seattle, Wash., and is brought home for burial. Red Oak Sani- 
tarium, a private school for mentally backward children, opened. 

Members of Board, George W. Pogue, Henry Peterson and Wm. 
Cozad. Mr. Pogue appointed to take charge of the burial of needy 
old soldiers of Red Oak and vicinity. Cost of paving around court 
house square found to be $2,654.13. 



APPENDIX B. 



ROSTER OF COMPANY M, FIFTY-FIRST IOWA VOL. INFANTRY. 
SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 1898-1899. THOSE WHO RE- 
TURNED AT CLOSE OF PHILIPPINE CAMPAIGN. 



OflScers. Commissioned and Non-Commissioned. All were of 
Red Oak unless otherwise noted: Capt. Jesse W. Clark, First Lieut. 
W. Harry French, Second Lieut. Guy E. Logan, First Sergt. Owen 
C. Hawkins, Quartermaster Sergt. Chas. B. Rose, Sergt. Wm. M. 
Hiett, Sergt. Henry A. Nordquist, Sergt. J. Edward Logan, Sergt. 
Resolve P. Palmer, Corp. Thomas F. Zuber, Corp. Clarence A. Lumb, 
Corp. Jas. H. Windsor, Corp. F. Corydon Ingram, Corp. Frank S. 
Smith, Corp. Everett E. Lane, Corp. Lloyd D. Ross, Corp. Ivan Ell- 
wood, Corp. J. Donald Enfield, Clarinda, Corp. Harry P. Brenholts, 
Mt. Pleasant, Corp. Omar Duncan, Clarinda, Corp. Wm. E. Nicoll,' 
Musician Otis R. Tyson, Musician Clyde C. Hoober, Chillicothe, la.! 
Artificer Edward O. Pace, Wagoner Michael S. Miller, Cook Ed M. 
Pitner. 

Privates — Chas. E. Arnold, Clarinda, Frank V. Arnold, Grinnell, 
Guy M. Briggs, Lee Blue, Lamonte Byers, John Behm, Clarinda, 
Harry J. Clark, Carl D. Cook, Robert S. Cook, Ernest Dennis, Chas. 
F. Dillon, Evan J. Evans, Wade Evans, Claude D. Elder, Allerton, 
John B. Enfield, Clarinda, Jesse C. Fisher, James R. Figg, Haw- 
thorne, Chas. M. Fulton, Clarinda, Roy D. Gassner, John D. Gill- 
more, C. H. Goldsberry, Harry M. Grifiith, Mt. Ayr, A. L. Hockett, 
Jr., H. J. Hoffman, Atlantic, Thos. Hollowell, Atlantic Will r' 
Kerrihard, C. M. Kneedy, Elliott, James M. Logan, Jesse F. Lyon, 
E. W. Martin, Clarinda, Edwin A. Merritt, Chas. H. Murphy, Morse' 
E. Moulton, Wm. Morgan, Wales, Lewis E. Nelson, Clarinda, Chas. 
Olson, Stanton, Don Q. Rathbone, John J. Rapp, Atlantic, Ralph 
Robb, H. F. Smith, C. A. Stafford, Mt. Pleasant, Harry E. Stevens 
Harry W. Stotler, Clarinda, Ed J. Stotler, Clarinda, Fred W. Sandell, 
Walter L. Shank, Frank W. Throw, Ralph W. Tidrick, Tingley 
Samuel J. Tilden, Paul W. Uvary, Wm. Valentine, Shelbyville c' 
W. Wheeler, Frank Wolfe. 

Previously Discharged— Officers — Second Sergt. Edwin M. Rose, 
Corp. Wm. J. Jeffers, Corp. Geo. L. Jones, Neosho Falls, Kas Corp 
Harry D. Cook, Musician J. Henry Kastman. 

Privates — Vin J. Applegate, Ernest C. Bond, Iowa Falls, H L 
Chamberlain, Clarinda, Ira Day, Atlantic, Edward Dolan, John B 
Hallett, R. H. Hammond, John M. Halbert, Elliott, Chas. E. Lee 
Atlantic, C. E. Longstreet, Joseph I. Markey, W. B. McPherrin' 
Clarinda, Ole M. Oleson, Atlantic, Chas. W. Ross, M. D. Stocksleger' 
John E. Throw, Jas. W. Trabert, Stanton, Lloyd Watson, Clarinda. 
Corporal Chas. L. Binns, Red Oak, remained to accept a position as 
stenographer to the Judge Advocate in Lawton's Division He re- 
mained a year. 

-lon?^^*^^^ ^''^™ Disease — Wagoner Verni R. Hysham died Aug 20 
1898, in St Luke's Hospital, San Francisco. Earl McCament died 
i ^no : i.^^' ^^ Presidio Hospital. Ellery E. Mills died Sept. 14, 
1898, at Presido Hospital. John E. Ritter died July 11 1898 at 
the French Hospital, Camp Merritt. Lucien E. Rogers died July'lS 
1898, at Lane Hospital, San Francisco. 



342 HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 

Casualties — John Behm, of Clarinda, wounded at Pulilan, April 
24, 1899. Harry P. Brenholtz, of Mt. Pleasant, wounded at Calulut, 
Aug. 9, 1899. Adrian C. Hockett, of Red Oak, wounded at Quingua, 
April 23, 1899. Bert Thomas, of Red Oak, wounded at Quingua, 
April 23, 1899. Joseph I. Markey, of Red Oak, wounded at San 
Fernando, May 26, 1899. Samuel J. Tilden, of Red Oak, wounded 
at Calumpit, April 25, 1899. Thomas Hollowell, of Atlantic, slight- 
ly wounded at San Fernando, June 22, 1899. Fred E. Strong, of 
Ottumwa, attached to Company M, but not enlisted, wounded at Polo, 
April 11, 1899. 



ROSTER OF COMPANY B, FIFTY-FIRST IOWA VOL. INFANTRY. 
SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 1898-1899. THOSE WHO RE- 
TURNED AT CLOSE OF PHILIPPINE CAMPAIGN. 

Officers — Commissioned and Non-Commissioned. All of Villisca 
except as otherwise noted: Capt. Albert F. Burton, Wymore, Neb., 
First Lieut. James D. Baker, Second Lieut. Samuel B. Scholz, Jr., 
First Sergt. Frank Melton, Quartermaster Sergt. H. C. Elrick, Sergt. 
Perry Andrews, Sergt. Charles E. Jenkins, Sergt. James C. Cresswell, 
Sergt. Wilbur E. Moore, Des Moines, Corp. Harry A. Baker, Corp. 
Frank E. Gunn, Des Moines, Corp. Chas. O. Foster, Corp. Bert Chris- 
inger, Corp. Frank C. Humphrey, Greenfield, Corp. C. G. Williams, 
Walla Walla, Wash., Corp. Gilbert McCauley, Corp. Chas. M. Laird, 
Des Moines, Corp. Jerry Spargur, Corp. Herman Murray, Massena, 
Corp. John Pierce, Des Moines, Corp. Joe Benda, Iowa City, Musician 
Jos. A. Overman, Musician Geo. H. Pittman, Artificer William A. 
Kelly, Wagoner Chas. Parker, Cook John Garnett, Iowa City. 

Privates — Robert Admanson, Stuart, Bert B. Baker, Thos. J. 
Bolt, F. C. Chatterton, Robt. F. Cockerill, E. W. Dubell, Miltgrove, 
O., James A. Dunn, Frank Embree, Indianola, Wm. S. Fisher, Adair, 
Wm. Gieskieng, Blairtown, Jos. D. Hahn, Marion, Fred A. Hall, Van 
Wert, W J. Haggett, Iowa City, C. C. Hopps, LaMoille, 111., F. W. 
Hosteller, Greenfield, A. G. Johnson, Ed Kempster, Adair, A. T. 
Lineroth, B. F. Mahana, Iowa City, C. O. McCartney, Emerson, R. V. 
Mills, Fenwick Moore, C. A. Myers, John McKinney, Stuart, George 
Neeley, C. H. Sanders, Grinnell, Wm. Smith, Iowa City, E. A. Sweet, 
Springfield, Mo., C. W. Victor, J. H. Wires, G. E. Whan, S. L. Wick- 
ersham, Guss, la., J. M. Yergey. 

Previously Discharged — First Sergt. A. A. Doggett, First Sergt. 
C. L. Gebauer, Burlington, Sergt. Theo. Dangerfield, Corp. T. T. 
Rutledge, Lenox, Corp. O. W. Jappy, Sweden, Wm. Arthur, Adair, 
W. F. Boo, Nodaway, F. E. Butler, Cedar Falls, W. M. Cissne, Green- 
field, Guy Clinton, John Cooper, Guy Evans, O. H. Eggleston, W. M. 
Click, Terry, Okla., James Glaspbell, Davenport, Andrew Hanson, 
Forest City, J. S. Kanehl, Iowa City, Herman Lawson, Stanton, F. A. 
Middaugh, Clarinda, B. A. Melvy, Forest City, Oscar McDonald, 
Osceola, W. E. Merrill, Osceola, Ross Moore, D. O. Mason, Nodaway, 
Chas. Pittman, I. F. Powers, College Springs, Ed Parker, John Reed, 
Henry Rhode, Lewis, Robert Shepard, Ernest Stocksberger, Clear 
Lake, Chas. Smith, Iowa City, George Stivers, Burlington, Fred Tal- 
bert, George Towne, V. Van Houten, Lenox, John Wickersham, Guss, 
Alfred Yergey. Mustered out at Manila to re-enlist in service — Tim 
Erickson, Sciola, la. Transferred men — Sergt. S. C. Baker, Villisca 
to Co. K; Corp. Chas. F. Campbell, Nodaway, to Co. K; Jesse A. 
Ranous, Des Moines, to Co. A. 

Deaths from Disease — Corp. Patrick Ahern, of Des Moines, died 
Sept. 11, 1898, of typhoid fever, in the field Hospital at the Presidio, 
San Francisco. Body taken to Des Moines for burial. 



CHRONOLOGY 343 

Barton J. Brown, of Guss, la., died Aug. 30, 1898, at San Fran- 
cisco, of measles complicated with pneumonia. Buried at Guss, la. 

Rodney K. Clarlc, of Oxford, la., died Aug. 8, 1898, at Manila, 
of tyhoid fever, complicated with pneumonia; buried in the Philip- 
pines, but several months later body was brought home for burial. 

Joseph Needles, of Arbor Hill, la., died Aug. 16, 1898, at San 
Francisco, of pneumonia following measles; buried in the Govern- 
ment cemetery at the Presidio. 

Clifford Stillinger, of Villisca, died Nov. 10, 1898, at San Fran- 
cisco, of typhoid fever; buried at Villisca. 

Casualties — Wounded — John D. Hahn of Marion, la., wounded 
in the leg below the knee by accidental discharge of revolver, Feb. 
11, 1899, in camp at outpost, San Roque, P. I. John Kernan, of 
Nodaway, la., gunshot wound in right arm, April 11, 1899, at Calum- 
pit, P. I. Corporal Herman Murray, of Messena, la., wounded in 
left shoulder at Malolos, April 19, 1899, while playing cards out 
in the open, a mile from the enemy. 

Other Montgomery County Soldiers — Major Sterling P. Moore, of 
Villisca, shortly before the Spanish-American war, being then Cap- 
tain of Company B, was elected Major of the Tfiird Battalion of the 
Third Regiment. Major Moore was commissioned as Major of the 
Fifty-First Iowa, and served with credit during the campaign. 

Lieutenant Herbert C. Lane of Red Oak, was a charter member 
of Company M and was the company's first Quartermaster Sergeant. 
He was commissioned as Lieutenant at Camp McKinley and was as- 
signed as Battalion Adjutant of the Third Battalion, commanded by 
Major Moore. Later he was made regimental commissary officer, 
which position he held all through the regiment's service, making 
a splendid record for efficiency in a difficult position. Although not 
required to do so, he actively participated in nearly all the engege- 
ments of the campaign, being on the line most of the time with his 
old comrades of Company M. 

Sergeant Earl C. Hessler, Red Oak, served as First Sergeant Co. 
D, First Nebraska Volunteer Infantry, serving through the Phillip- 
pine campaign. 

Will Mahaffy, Red Oak, enlisted in Troop I, First Illinois Cavalry, 
remained at Camp George H. Thomas at Chickamaugua. "When his 
regiment was mustered out at Chicago, he re-enlisted in the en- 
gineers' corps and was later transferred to Co. E, Sixteenth U. S. 
Infantry, and saw several years of active service in the Philippines. 

W. W. Merritt, Jr., of Red Oak, enlisted in Troop B, First U. S. 
Cavalry (Roosevelt's Rough Riders). First sent to Tampa, Fla., 
then to the camp at Montauk Point. 

Olaf B. Hanson enlisted in the Egnineers' Corps and was trans- 
ferred to Co. I, Twentieth U. S. Infantry; saw service in Philippines, 

Gus Woelhoff first enlisted in the Third Nebraska, William J. 
Bryan's regiment, and later enlisted in Co. B, Thirty-Ninth U. S. 
Infantry, and saw service in the Philippines. 

Wm. W. Hardwick of Red Oak, served two years in Co. B. 
Thirty-Ninth U. S. Infantry and saw service in the Philippines. 

Phil Bliss, of Red Oak, enlisted at Salt Lake City, Utah, August 
15, 1899, and was assigned to Company H, Thirty-Fifth U. S. Vol- 
unteer Infantry. He served in the Philippines, his regiment being 
stationed in Northern Luzon. He was mustered out at San Fran- 
cisco, May 6, 1901. 



APPENDIX C. 



MONTGOMERY COUNTY SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES. 



Fourth General Assembly — Senate, George W. Lucas; House, 
William C. Means. 

Fifth General Assembly — Senate, George W. Lucas; House, Rich- 
ard Tutt. 

Sixth General Assembly — Senate, Samuel Dale; House, Samuel 
H. Moer. 

Seventh General Assembly — Senate, Samuel Dale; House, James 
M. Dews. 

Eighth General Assembly — Senate, Harvey W. English; House, 
Washington Darling. 

Ninth General Assembly — Senate, J. C. Hagans; House, George 
A. Gordon. 

Tenth General Assembly — Senate, L. W. Hillyer; House, W. B. 
Davis. 

Eleventh General Assembly — Senate, L. W. Hillyer; House, A. 
K. Crawford. 

Twelfth General Assembly — Senate, N. B. Moore; House, Galen 
F. Killburn. 

Thirteenth General Assembly — Senate, Jefferson P. Cassady; 
House, William W. Merritt. 

Fourteenth General Assembly — Senate, John Y. Stone; House, 
Oliver Mills. 

Fifteenth General Assembly — Senate, John Y. Stone; House, 
Cornelius C. Platter. 

Sixteenth General Assembly — Senate, Alfred Hebard; House, 
George A Morse. 

Seventeenth General Assembly — Senate, Alfred Hebard; House, 
George T. Ashby. 

Eighteenth General Assembly — Senate, Alfred Hebard; House, 
Zelotes T. Fisher. 

Nineteenth General Assembly — Senate, Alfred Hebard; House, 
Cornelius C. Platter. 

Twentieth General Assembly — Senate, James S. Hendrie; House, 
John V. Johnson. 

Twenty-First General Assembly — Senate, James S. Hendrie; 
House, F. P. Greenlee. 

Twenty-Second General Assembly — Senate, Thomas Weidman; 
House, John W. Yergey. 

Twenty-Third General Assembly — Senate, Thomas Weidman; 
House, John W. Yergey. 

Twenty-Fourth General Assembly — Senate, A. J. Chantry; House, 
Joseph S. Boise, Sr. 

Twenty-Fifth General Assembly — Senate, A. J, Chantry; House, 
Filson Cooper. 

Twenty-Sixth General Assembly — Senate, J. M. Junkin; House. 
R. E. Cook. 

Twenty-Seventh General Assembly — Senate, J. M. Junkin; House. 
R. E. Cook. 

Twenty-Eighth General Assembly — Senate, J. M. Junkin; House. 
Cyrus L. Stratton. 

Twenty-Ninth General Assembly — Senate, J. M. Junkin; House. 
Cyrus L. Stratton. 

Thirtieth General Assembly — Senate, Shirley Gilliland: House. 
P. F. Jones. 



,lC 10 1906 



